It Belongs in a Museum
by Dean's Leather Jacket
Summary: A man is found murdered at a prominent shipping company on Oahu. The murder weapon: a centuries old Roman dagger. 5-0 is on the case, and with the help of a friend of Danny's they uncover an antiquities smuggling ring. Steve/OC NOW COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1: Introductions and Reflections

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter One: Introductions and Reflections**

Daniel "Danny" Williams walked into a bar… all right it sounds like the start to a bad joke, but he really did walk into the Lono Bar one evening after a hard day at Five-0. He had chased a suspect, gotten shot at, and almost lost his cool… again… with his new partner. You know, the usual. It was now time to kick back a nice, cold beer and go home to watch re-runs of "MacGyver."

Danny smoothed his black tie as he sat at the bar, rolling up the sleeves to his blue collared shirt. He flagged down the bartender and ordered a Guinness. When the bartender returned with his drink, he took a hearty slug and sighed as the liquid slid easily down his throat, instantly soothing his current inflamed attitude.

"Hey there, Danno, sorry I'm late." Came a female voice he instantly recognized. Said female jumped up onto the barstool next to him, placing her purse on the bar in front of her. It was a woman Danny could not easily forget. He had known her pretty much all of his life, having a mutual relation (they shared a cousin, but were not related themselves) and hanging out during the summers and certain holidays while they grew up. She was twenty-nine, a couple of years younger than he, and she had shoulder length dark brown curly hair with compelling hazel eyes situated behind stylish, rectangular shaped glasses. She hadn't gotten a chance to change from work, as she was still wearing her business attire she wore whilst teaching.

"What'll it be?" Asked the bartender, that age-old question.

"What he's having, please." The woman indicated the pint Danny was drinking. The bartender nodded and moved away to fulfill the order.

"Sorry again that I'm late." She said. Danny just shrugged and shot her a smile.

"Pen, really, it's fine. I had just started on my first Guinness. No biggie."

Dr. Penelope Harrison smiled back at Danno. She knew he hated being called that name unless it was Grace using it, so naturally, Pen had to do it too. He was probably her best guy friend in the entire world, and she saw him as another older brother.

"How was school today?" Danny asked. The bartender had gently plopped down the pint of Guinness in front of Pen. She paid him, and sighed after the first sip, the feeling of the alcohol unwinding her nerves.

"Fine. Teaching on a college level is a whole lot easier than having to teach on a high school level. I don't think I'd have ever been able to handle those little shits." Pen laughed. Danny just shook his head and smiled.

"I think you would've been able to handle it, but, you're right, I think I do see you more comfortable in a college setting. You can curse all you want to college kids."

Pen had moved from her home state of Virginia to Honolulu a few months prior to when Danny had made the move to be closer to his daughter. A job offering had been presented to Pen, one that paid a whole lot more than the university she had been at, so she made the move. It was hard at first, because the only people on the islands of Hawaii she knew were her goddaughter, Grace, Danny's daughter, and Rachel, Danny's ex-wife, whom Pen was actually still decent friends with. Then, Danny made the transfer to the Honolulu Police Department, and everything was almost right in the world. She Skyped with other family members back on the mainland, and made promises to come home for holidays.

"Yell at anyone in Latin today?" He asked her, breaking her out of her reverie.

"Not today, although I did teach everyone the 'swine from the devil's herd' phrase." Danny laughed and shook his head. Pen was a Classicist, a person who studied ancient Greece and Rome (more of an emphasis on Rome for her because it was her life's passion), and had joined the ranks of professors at Hawaii Pacific University, right in Honolulu.

"How was work for you?" Pen asked. She was always afraid to ask. She felt like she knew everything about everyone and everything Danny did at his job. She especially wasn't sure about this Steve McGarrett character. He sounded like a loose canon that could get somebody killed with his recklessness. Pen had yet to get a chance to meet Danny's coworkers, but she hoped that it would eventually be soon.

"The usual." He deadpanned.

"Let me guess: got shot at, chased someone, almost lost your temper, but still caught the bad guy in the end?"

"You would be correct." He replied.

"Of course." And then a silence lapsed for awhile, just the two of them enjoying their beers and soaking in the other's company without really even having to say anything. People began trickling in as they got off work, and the din of the bar rose higher. An old jukebox in the corner played some classic rock ballad that Pen couldn't make out through the chatter in the bar.

"So when do you have Grace again?" Pen asked, finally breaking the silence.

"I have her for the weekend." Danny replied. "Hopefully I'll be able to spend time with her, and not on a case."

"If you get called away you know where to drop her off." Pen offered like she always did. She loved her goddaughter so much, and was glad that Rachel still let Pen be a part of Grace's life.

"As always, thank you, and you know I'll take you up on it. But anyway, regardless, Grace wanted to go out and have brunch on Saturday morning if you have nothing going on." Danny said.

"Me? What do I have going on a Saturday other than grading papers and piddly little chores around the house?"

"I don't know, I thought you might have a hot date or something." Danny joked, a smirk on his face. Pen rolled her eyes.

"Please. When do I have time for hot dates?" Pen asked.

"Well, you're going on a date with Grace and I to brunch. You could consider that a hot date." Danny pointed out.

"This is true. I could consider it. But I don't think you're hot." Danny laughed.

After more conversation over another Guinness, the two best friends called it quits and went their separate ways. As always, Danny offered her a ride back to her house, and as usual she refused, saying she preferred the walk. This was basically the only time Pen ever took it upon herself to do physical exercise, so she figured it better happen after two beers. Danny pulled her into a quick hug before he made his way to his own car and returned to his apartment. Pen meandered through the streets of Honolulu, making her way to her own townhome apartment squashed in between two, tall buildings. The top floor of the townhome was her apartment, and the bottom belonged to her landlord, Mrs. Smith, a widowed older lady in her seventies.

Pen keyed her way into the building and up to her apartment. She plopped her messenger bag on her tiny kitchen table, and pulled a water bottle out of the refrigerator. True to her own normal routine, Pen changed from her work clothes and into sweatpants and a t-shirt. She pulled out a stack of papers to grade, sat down in her "grading" chair, and flipped through the channels. She had almost given up hope that anything good was on, until she landed on the TCM channel and saw an old John Wayne, World War II flick was on. Satisfied with this development, Pen sat back in her chair and got down to work grading some assignments from her freshman.

* * *

True to his normal routine, Danny returned to his own small apartment, changed from his work clothes to more casual ones, sat down in the one comfortable chair he had, and watched reruns of "MacGyver." He had even cracked another beer, a Heineken this time, and sat back to enjoy the show.

He had to admit that he wasn't as miserable in Hawaii as he thought he would be. The only reason he came down here was for Grace. His ex-wife had pretty much stomped on his heart, so the only thing he cared about in the world was his daughter and his job.

The jury was still out on what he really thought about his new partner, Steve McGarrett. The guy was absolutely nuts, and on a few occasions completely scared Danny with his intensity. But he had to admit; Steve did get the job done. In his own crazy, Navy SEAL trained way; he really helped catch the bad guys in the end.

Danny's wonderings turned to Pen, his best friend. His aunt and uncle's house in Maine had been the vacation Mecca for both of their families when he was a kid. He would come up from New Jersey, and she from Virginia. They would exchange letters as kids, and when the Internet really hit it big, they would exchange emails. She was like the younger sister he never had. It was awesome when she had gotten into Columbia University for her Ph.D. program. It meant that she was a lot closer and they spent more time together, Pen, Rachel, Danny and Grace. Those were some of the best times of his life, and he thought he had lost them when the divorce had completely finalized. Now, it was only a matter of different place, different people.

Hawaii wasn't so bad. Even with the unprofessional dress of his coworkers (which he always got flack for, but didn't care). The most important people in his life were there with him, he was in a tropical paradise that he SHOULD be appreciating, and he had a job that he was starting to love (despite the increased danger factor).

Danny nodded to himself, draining the rest of his beer, and watched as MacGyver successfully escaped from a locked room with just his shoelaces. Yes, he could really make it work here.

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Stephen J. McGarrett took a nighttime run along the stretch of beach behind his father's house. This was not something he was normally wont to do, but tonight he felt the urge. It had been a good day at work, the bad guy had been caught, and Steve needed a way to calm down. The sand flew everywhere beneath his sneakers as he pounded down the beach at a steady pace, breath heavy and panting. The thought vaguely crossed his mind that he could really make this a routine thing to do. Nothing beats a nighttime run along the beach.

Running had always been an activity that Steve enjoyed. He did it when he played football, and he did it when he had a brief stint in track and field in high school. There was plenty of it when he went to Annapolis to the Naval Academy, and of course, the intense physical training of the Navy SEALs. It was truly the one activity that Steve had to himself, a way to take a step back and look at the events of the day. A good activity to think about things in his life, and what step to take next. The endorphins were running full force throughout his body, and he felt invigorated again, and renewed for another day of Five-0 tomorrow.

Steve's mind briefly slipped to Danny Williams. Poor Danny, he had no idea how to handle Steve. Danny had no idea how to let go, and not follow things by the book. There was a reason the governor had given them this task force, a task force, which had no set of rules. Steve could tell that their relationship was improving a millimeter a day, which was all the progress he could ask for really. He knew he was a difficult person to work with sometimes, but it didn't stop him from getting the job done.

The former SEAL finally turned his direction back towards his dad's house, and gave a final hard push at the end. Steve took gulps of water from his Camelbak as he stood on the back porch of the house and looked off into the distance of the ocean, listening to the crashing waves. He had to admit that he loved Hawaii, and could imagine no better place to live and work and relax. With that final thought, he polished off his water and made his way back into the house to hit the shower and finally go to bed. The run had done him some good, and he could tell he was going to get a fairly decent night's sleep.

* * *

Chin Ho Kelly and Kona "Kono" Kalakaua had enjoyed an evening much the same as Danny and Pen had. They commiserated about life over a couple of beers, and then the two cousins finally went their own separate ways. Chin decided that he did not yet want to return to his empty apartment; instead he made a trip to the firing range. It was a place where he felt at home, felt in control of his situation. Since he had been basically coerced into resigning from the force, Chin had not felt quite at home anywhere else than this shooting range. Only recently, upon joining the Five-0, did he feel like a part of something special again, and he greatly appreciated the opportunity given to him by Steve McGarrett.

Chin purchased a couple boxes of rounds for his service pistol and took his favorite spot on the range. No one else was there at this time of the day, and Chin enjoyed the silence as he placed the ear protection over his own ears. He carefully, almost lovingly, loaded his gun, took aim at the target, and squeezed off a whole clip. With each kick back of the gun, Chin felt closer to feeling like a cop again.

The former Honolulu police officer repeated the previous actions until he had run out of ammunition to shoot off. He holstered his weapon back on to this hip, and exited the range, throwing a wave at the range attendant behind the bulletproof glass. Outside, the sun had mostly set beyond the horizon. It set off vibrant colors of red, purple, blue and orange. Chin loved his home state, and would not choose to live anywhere but the islands. He walked briskly to his car and returned home to that empty apartment he had so dreaded. He could still feel traces of his wife, long after she had left him because of his supposed "shame." Chin could never begin to understand the allegations of corruption that had been brought upon him, and he could never hope to clear his name.

Five-0 was his life now, and he was glad to be a part of something so spectacular. Steve McGarrett was a commendable leader and asset to the team, and Chin felt honored to work with him. Steve was a lot like his father, even if he didn't want to admit it, and Chin admired that about him as well.

For the rest of the evening, Chin decided to read the latest Tom Clancy novel he had picked up from the bookstore, and went to sleep at a decent hour. This night, his sleep was not plagued with nightmares.

* * *

Kona "Kono" Kalakaua, after a long day at work for the Five-0, decided that the perfect stress reliever activity would be to surf. It was one of the few places and activities in life that she could truly let go of herself, and feel at one with nature, at one with the wave.

After drinks with her cousin, Chin, Kono returned home to grab her surfboard and change into her favorite surfing bikini. Kono knew it wasn't at all smart to surf in the dying light of day, but at the same time, it was the perfect time to surf. She drove to near her favorite surfing spot, parked, and prepared herself for wave riding.

The swells were decent this evening, she had seen better, but she would take what she could get. Kono had to admit that her favorite parts about surfing were not the actual surfing parts, but the paddling out the distance for good swells, and the anticipation for the perfect wave. This was Kono's perfect place to think and reflect on the day.

Kono ran out into the waves, flopped on her belly onto her board, and began the paddle out to the proper distance needed to catch the best wave. The water lapped at her body as she made her way out a ways. Finally, she stopped, turned her board around, and just sat up on it. Gazing out back towards shore, she took in the lights of the city. The sound of the ocean, probably her favorite sound, drowned out the noise of cars and trucks driving. This was her heaven, her haven.

She had been so proud of herself that she had made it through the police academy and followed in her family's footsteps. Not to mention it was the best thing when Steve recruited her right out of the gate, hell, even before she had graduated! The thought of the incident with her knee sobered her thoughts again. That had been an awful day; she had legitimately feared she would never be able to surf again. Turns out, she just would never be able to surf professionally again.

Kono looked behind her and saw it—the perfect wave. She readied herself, felt the wave lap over her, and hoisted herself up onto the board, digging her feet into the material under her, and letting out a shout of delight as she surfed back into shore. The feeling of catching the perfect wave was exhilarating, like catching the bad guy at the end of the day. Knowing that another scumbag was behind bars was rewarding enough; knowing that the streets of Hawaii were safe again. At least, until another bad guy showed up.

Kono waded out into the water a few more times, and rode a wave back in a few more times. When it got to the point where she really could not see her hand in front of her face, was when she finally stopped. Tomorrow would be another day.

* * *

William "Bob" Morris swept his flashlight up and down one of the docks at the Oahu Shipping Company. It would be just his luck that he would be stuck with the graveyard shift this week. He and his wife were having marital issues, and this was the week he was planning on making it all up to her.

Bob really didn't like this security guard job. In this economy, it was the only thing he could find after being laid off from his construction job that he had had for about ten years or so. Now he was stuck here, a glorified rent-a-cop, with no real power what so ever, except to watch.

He suddenly heard voices from a good distance down the pier, and Bob wondered what could be going on. There were no shipments or anything scheduled to come in that night, and there were definitely no other employees on shift. He cut his flashlight and used the faint light from the dock lights and the city to guide his way closer to the voices.

What he eventually came upon confused him greatly. There were at least half a dozen men unloading crates from a shipping container, all looked of Asian descent.

"Excuse me, gentleman. Are you authorized to be here? I don't have you on my sheet." Bob decided to intervene, in case they really weren't supposed to be there. The one man that had been surveying the others as they unloaded turned to Bob. He did not look happy to see him… not at all. Bob suddenly grew nervous, and knew instantly that they weren't supposed to be here, and he stumbled upon something that he wasn't supposed to see.

Bob Morris did not see it coming, nor in his wildest dreams did he expect to leave this earth in such a manor. For the man that seemed to be in charge of this band of people, reached into one of the crates, pulled out a weird looking pointed object, and came at Bob so fast, there was no way he would've known what hit him. The object pierced his heart, a few minutes later, Bob gurgled his last breath, all the while thinking of how he wished he had made up with his wife sooner.

**A/N: Ok, so, obviously this is my first Hawaii Five-0 fan fiction, and it's honestly the first sort of cop procedural I have ever written. I'm going to do my best, and we'll see how it goes. Sorry that this first chapter was kind of slow. I felt like it'd be kind of cool to do a little introduction of the characters and see what they may be thinking. Please, I welcome constructive criticism, I relish in it because I know I can always improve, but PLEASE don't send flames. They're really unnecessary. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, and I'll hopefully have more chapters up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2: A Roman What?

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Two: A Roman What?**

**Disclaimer: Since I forgot to put this in the first chapter… I, in no way, own anything to do with Hawaii Five-0. I own Penelope, and any other original character my mind thinks up. Although… I really wouldn't mind owning Steve McGarrett a.k.a. Alex O'Loughlin… mmmmm… Oh! And also, the title for this fic comes from a movie; I'd totally give real cookies (if I could) to the first person to guess it correctly. **

Simultaneously, at two different places on Oahu, an alarm clock and a cellular phone went off. Their respective owners both groaned in frustration and slammed their hands down on the offending devices.

For Danny, it was his cell phone. The caller I.D. read "McGarrett" and Danny knew instantly it wasn't going to be a great day.

For Pen, it was her alarm clock, signaling to her that it was indeed time to awaken, get to campus, and enlighten the minds of today's youths.

"Yeah?" Danny asked, answering the phone in an irritated voice.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." Steve greeted on the other end.

"Wha'd'ya want?" Danny asked, the Jersey accent coming out a little in his aggravated and still half asleep voice.

"Some fisherman caught a dead body in their net this morning. I told HPD we'd take point on this investigation. I just love when we get cases like this… what do you cops call them? Floaters?"

Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing. This man was truly sick in the head, and he gladly informed Steve of this fact. Steve just laughed.

"Meet me at the coroner's office in an hour. Max is already underway on the autopsy."

Danny mumbled his acknowledgement and hung up the phone. Figures that his day would start like this.

* * *

Pen had a slightly better start to the day. She felt vaguely invigorated, and had no explanation for it. Maybe it was because she was giving a pop quiz to her freshman World History class? Or maybe it was because it was a Friday, and she only had a few more hours to go until the weekend?

Whatever it was, it must have been contagious, because the second she stepped out of the elevator onto the floor where her office was, she could tell that her colleagues were feeling the same way.

Pen stopped and chatted with a couple of her coworkers and got the lowdown on what they were doing for the weekend. Spending time with their families, hiking along the coast, etc. etc.; the things they did every weekend. Pen wondered where this laid-back, carefree mentality had gone to with people on the mainland. Everyone was always running here or running there. No one had time to stop and smell the… well… hibiscus?

She had office hours before her class at 11:00 a.m., and was unsurprised to find that no one was there when she rounded the corner. No one ever really came to office hours, and some of her freshman could really use the time. Pen unlocked the door and began to get herself settled for the day. She was pretty proud of herself because she had yet to make a total pigsty out of her office. Normally, she'd have papers everywhere and books thrown to and fro, but this time she had more space (not to mention more shelf space for said books) and wall space to hang up the posters she had. Pen had made it a point to try and collect any poster she could about movies involving ancient Rome. Of course she had _Gladiator_ and she had the poster for the old _Spartacus _movie with Kirk Douglas. Others included _Centurion, Cleopatra _with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the television show _Rome, _and also the Shakespeare play of _Julius Caesar_ with Marlon Brando as Marc Antony. Those were only some of the few that she had, her wall space was mostly covered with them. Danny and Rachel had helped her acquire some as well, not to mention they had gifted her with a replica Roman _gladius _(a Roman sword, which hung on the wall as well) when she had graduated with her Ph.D. from Columbia.

After turning on her iPod and selecting her "Classical Music" playlist, Pen sat at her desk chair, a comfortable, high backed, rolling chair to boot, and turned to look outside the two big windows behind her. She had a good view of the city below her on Bishop Street, in the heart of the Hawaii Pacific University campus. She always loved to people watch, and sat there for a few minutes just scoping out everyone. Then, she decided that she should really get back to some more grading, and spent the rest of her office hours doing just that.

* * *

Max Bergman was probably the most eccentric person Danny had ever met, and he had grown up and policed in New Jersey! But there he was, on the other side of the room, playing with his piano again. Steve and Danny looked on from the other side of John Doe's remains (an I.D. had yet to be made), bored looks on their faces. They were beginning to get used to the medical examiner's behavior, and realized that it took patience and a little bit of time, before Max actually felt the need to tell them something.

Danny had out his trusty notebook that he took notes in. He made it a point to write down a physical description of the victim. He would say that the man was middle aged, brown hair and glazed over brown eyes. He was a lot bluer than a dead body usually looked, probably because it had been in the water. Parts of John Doe's flesh had been eaten away by fish and other life forms that were swimming around in the Pacific. Danny felt sorry for the guy. Not only had he been murdered, but also he had been gnawed on by fish and God knows what else? Max had sent away for dental records to make a match so they could get identification for this guy. Danny had already grabbed the box of evidence bags filled with the clothes that the man had had on him. They were going to be taken to the crime lab to see if the techs could get anything off of them.

Finally, Max finished his version of Moonlight Sonata (not really a bad rendition, in Steve's opinion), and came back to the metal slab that held the John Doe, where he gazed across it to the two men.

"The murder weapon is some sort of antique dagger. It's got to be very old. I would say, from my limited historical experience, that it is Roman." He intoned.

Steve looked absolutely taken aback, like he had just been told that Santa Claus actually used platypuses to drive his sleigh, instead of reindeers. Danny on the other hand, instantly believed it. He had been dragged to one too many museums by Pen to know that the medical examiner was telling the truth.

"What?" Steve asked incredulously, holding his hand out to Max, waiting for the evidence bag with the murder weapon to be placed in his possession. Max placed it gently in his hand, and warned the ex-SEAL to be extremely careful with it. Of course, he just snatched it and pretty much man handled it, making Danny wince. Pen would not be pleased at all. Steve held it up to the light to get a better look at it, and Danny took a step closer as well.

The object in question was actually kind of small, maybe about the length of Steve's hand from the tip of his middle finger to the heel of his hand. There was an evident hilt and the blade, having turned a greenish-gray color from not being well taken care of and the elements over the years, was covered in dried blood.

"You're seriously telling me that John Doe was killed with an antique?" Steve asked.

"Yes, that is precisely what I am saying. It was stabbed into his heart and it severed the aorta, causing exsanguination." Max said. Danny's mind vaguely flashed to an image of Mr. Spock, and how the coroner never showed the slightest bit of an emotion in the little speech he just gave.

"So, he bled to death?" Danny asked, just to make sure the translation in his head of what Max had just parlayed was accurate. Max just nodded once.

"How old are we talking, here?" Steve asked, shoving the evidence bag into one of the pockets in his cargo pants. Danny winced again. Pen REALLY wouldn't be pleased about that.

"I may know about a lot of things, but I'm not a historian. Especially a Classical historian." Max intoned again, looking blankly across John Doe at them again.

"It's alright," Danny piped up. "I know someone who could help us. Anything else you need to tell us, Max."

"I may have some idea where this man worked."

"Where?" Steve asked.

"When he came in to the morgue, he was wearing a uniform. All the patches were ripped off, presumably by the killer, along with any other form of identification. But based on the colors of the uniform and the way it is styled, I would say that he was some sort of security guard."

"That's fantastic Max, thank you so much." Steve said, and Danny made a note on his pad. Any information they could get about this guy, the easier and faster it'll be to identify him and inform his family.

Just then, Steve's iPhone chirped, and he pulled it from his pocket.

"Chin, you got something for me?"

"Sure thing boss, I think we've got an I.D. for the John Doe." Chin responded on the other end.

"Talk to me." Steve urged.

"It's a good chance that it's a William Morris. His wife, Dawn, called into the police department a little bit ago claiming he hadn't returned from work. She was instructed to go to the morgue to make a positive I.D."

"Alright, we'll wait here for her. Is she on her way?

"Yes, she should be there soon."

As if on cue, an attendant peeked her head into the room.

"We have a Mrs. Dawn Morris out front."

"I'll call you back." Steve said to Chin. And once he had hung up, he told the attendant that he would be out to escort Mrs. Morris in.

"Before you go, can I put the dagger with the rest of the evidence?" Danny asked. He wanted to get that very old, very fragile antique out of his partner's pocket before something happened to it.

"Oh, yeah, sure, Danno." Steve said, handing the bag (well, actually, practically throwing the bag) to him as he walked out of the room. Danny winced and gently placed it on top of the clothes in the evidence box at his feet. Danny had a strong feeling that Pen will dislike Steve even more once he told her how the ex-SEAL had mishandled artifacts.

Steve returned a few minutes later with a small, round woman with auburn hair, and blue eyes. Steve held onto one of her arms, while a teenager, maybe about seventeen, held on to her other arm. Mrs. Morris did not even have to get very close to the metal slab before she broke down crying. John Doe really was a Mr. William Morris then. Danny glanced over and saw Max had returned to his piano. He started playing a sorrowful tune. The teenage boy, tears in his own eyes, held on to his mother as she sobbed. Danny hated this part. It never got easier.

"This is your husband then, Mrs. Morris?" Steve asked in a gentle tone. She nodded as she accepted the tissues Steve offered her. He had quickly grabbed them from a near by table when she had started crying.

"What h-h-happened to him?" She asked, once she had mopped up her tears.

"Fishermen found him in the ocean this morning. He had been stabbed." Steve said. He didn't beat around the bush. The woman had the right to know what had happened to her husband.

"Why would anyone do this to him?"

"We don't know ma'am, but we are going to find out. And we're going to find who did this to him and bring them to justice." Steve vowed, and if there was one thing that Danny had to admire about Steve, it was his conviction to bring the right person to justice.

Mrs. Morris braved it, and stepped up to the metal slab. Her son had let go of her arm, but he kept close by in case she had need of him. Her face scrunched up in pain when she saw the stab wound sewn up, and the standard 'Y' cut made during the autopsy.

"Oh hon." She mumbled to the deceased Mr. Morris. "We were going to turn over a new leaf. Why did you have to leave me before we could see if it would work?"

There was silence, except for Max's gentle playing. Danny stood to the side, the evidence box pushed behind him so Mrs. Morris didn't see the state of her husband's clothes or his murder weapon.

"Mrs. Morris, is there anyone that your husband may have problems or other issues with?" Steve asked the woman, stepping up beside her at the slab. She shook her vehemently.

"No, God no, William was a kind man. He never made enemies. He was too quiet for that." She smiled this time, almost as if she was fondly remembering something.

"Where did your husband work?" Steve asked her, the gentle tone still in his voice.

"He was a security guard for the Oahu Shipping Company." She said. "He had just been put on graveyard shifts. He was not happy about it."

Steve glanced over her head at Danny. Max's assessment about the clothes had been correct. Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Taking a business card from one of the slots, he handed it to Mrs. Morris.

"This is my number. Call me whenever you need me. We'll be in touch if we need any other information. Don't worry, Mrs. Morris, I swear that we will find the person that did this."

Mrs. Morris just nodded and began crying again, her son taking a hold of her and comforting her. Steve placed a hand on the son's shoulder, sending the teen a look that promised him the same thing he had just promised his mother.

Steve then cocked his head at Danny, motioning him to follow. Danny reached down to grab the box, and sidled out of the room after Steve; almost having to run to catch up to the ex-SEAL's long strides. He was already on the phone calling Chin.

"Chin, I think we just found our primary crime scene. Danny and I are on our way to the Oahu Shipping Company. You and Kono meet us there."

"10-4, boss." Chin acknowledged and both terminated the call.

When the two partners reached the silver Camaro, Danny gently and carefully placed the evidence box on the floor in the back seat. Once it was safely situated, he climbed into the passenger seat and strapped in.

"So, you know someone that could help us place this dagger thing?" Steve asked when he had gunned the car out of the parking lot.

"Yeah." Danny strained, holding on to the roof for dear life.

"Anyone I know?" Steve asked, curious.

"No, you don't know her." Danny said, feeling his whole body clench as Steve put petal to the metal to get through a yellow light. Steve looked over at Danny.

"Is this a girlfriend, Danno?"

"No it's not, now will you watch the road please!" Danny exclaimed. "I have a kid!"

"Yes, you've established this fact many times. In fact, I've met her once."

"Yeah, and I'd like to live long enough to see her get married and have kids!"

"Relax Danno, you'll be fine! The primary crime scene is most likely already been compromised, I just want to get there before any more evidence is completely erased."

"Yeah, but we can't catch a killer if we're dead!" Danny said, almost being unseated when Steve took a corner too sharply. He thought he heard the tires squealing.

"So, back to this woman, who is she to you?" Steve asked. Danny guessed that's what made Steve a decent enforcer of the law: he was nosy.

"She's Grace's godmother." Danny replied, feeling himself unconsciously clenching his butt cheeks when Steve took yet another corner too sharply.

"Nice, you never told me that you knew someone else in Hawaii."

"It never really came up in conversation."

"Oh… well… do you tell her about me?" Steve asked off handedly.

"As a matter of fact, I do tell her about you, and how friggin' crazy you are!" Danny shouted as Steve finally came to a stop at the front gate to Oahu Shipping Company. A few minutes later, Chin pulled up next to the Camaro with Kono, and the four members of Five-0 made their way onto the docks.

All the employees of the shipping company were hard at work, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The four soon located the main office, and had the shift manager come out to talk to them.

"How can I help you officers?" The shift manager, Bud, according to his nametag, asked.

"Did you notice something missing today, Mr. … Bud?" Asked Kono, taking point on the questioning. The three men hung back behind her, glancing around.

"No, I don't believe so, ma'am." Bud, a smarmy looking man, said, practically leering at Kono. She just rolled her eyes and ignored it.

"So, you didn't notice one of your employees missing when you came on shift this morning?"

"Who's missing?" Asked Bud. The secretary that had summoned Bud from his office, now looked intrigued, as she had stopped filing her nails about thirty seconds ago.

"William Morris, your night security guard?" Kono supplied.

"Oh! Bob? Eh, I didn't miss him. I just figured he might have gone home early or something."

"No one noticed that Mr. Morris was not on site when you came in to work this morning?" Kono asked incredulously. She found it hard to believe that no one had taken note.

"Well, you know how it is ma'am, there are so many employees at this company, I can't keep up with everyone." Bud said, with a creepy smile.

"Uh huh." Kono said, glancing back at the three men. They nodded to acknowledge their disbelief as well. Then Steve spoke up.

"Well, you don't mind if we take a look around then, do you… Bud?"

"Um… not at all. Go right ahead." He replied. Kono immediately exited the office, not wanting to be near that man any longer. Once the four of them were outside, Steve sent Chin and Kono looking in one direction, while he and Danny went in the other direction. They were to call if they found anything of interest.

"So… about this woman again… is she close by?" Steve asked from beside Danny, as they began searching on the planks of the dock and on storage containers, looking for blood or any other sign of a crime scene.

"She works at Hawaii Pacific University." Danny answered, somewhat distracted as he was focused on the search.

"Oh… cool… how do you guys know each other?"

"What does it matter?" Danny asked, irritated with the third degree.

"I'm just curious, considering I didn't think you had too many friends or acquaintances outside Five-0 and your daughter."

"Are you saying I'm not a social person?" Danny asked, stopping dead in his tracks. Steve sighed and stopped walking as well. He knew that Danny was about to get defensive… again.

"No… I mean… knowing you've just moved here and all, and being far from home—"

"I'm going to stop you right there. I have PLENTY of friends outside of Five-0 and Grace. I did make friends in HPD. And… I've made… other friends!" Danny said, his face getting flushed with anger. He started walking again, hoping that the conversation was going to stop there. He should've known it wasn't.

"Uh huh, right… and you socialize with these friends… when?" Steve knew he was being a bit of a dick, but he loved giving Danno a hard time.

Danno just ignored him, which was a new thing because Danny usually had some sort of comment to give back, but he was currently preoccupied looking at something on the dock.

"What've you got?" Steve asked, kneeling down beside Danny to get a closer look.

"I think it's blood." He muttered. Steve would have to agree. There wasn't much of it, but there were enough drops to make it suspect. It was mostly dried, but still looked slightly fresh. He immediately got on the phone to call Chin, and gave him the general location they were in. Both men stood and began looking around at the shipping containers near the blood spatter. That was when Steve noticed that one of the containers closest to the blood had a door slightly a jar. It was so slight; anyone just glancing over the container would've missed it. He stepped up to the door, and swung it open wide. Chin and Kono had just showed up, and both looked over his shoulder into the container. It was empty except for some packing material that was strewn on the floor of the container.

"Chin, run back to the front office and tell Bud you need to see shipping documents and information on container…" Here Steve looked around the side for the number… "P(Papa)-J(Juliet)-5-4-9-E(Echo)-3."

"Got it boss." Chin said, having written down the number. He jogged off back to the front entrance of the pier. Steve stepped into the container. It was clean except for the packaging material. There was no trace of anything to determine what was in it.

"I may be new to this whole shipping company stuff, but shouldn't these containers have stuff in them?" Danny asked.

"In theory." Steve answered. Kono had also stepped into the container and shown her flashlight around, yielding nothing.

Chin returned a few minutes later, with copies of the container information.

"There's definitely something wrong with this entire situation." Chin began. "At first, the secretary acted like she couldn't find information about this container, but then she was finally able to. She printed me copies. Supposedly, there is supposed to be crates of bottled olives from Greece in this container. It's not showing that the items have been picked up yet. Obviously, they're missing something."

Steve shook his head in puzzlement.

"I think our Mr. Morris stumbled upon something that he really wasn't supposed to be witnessing. He was just doing his job, and because of that he was murdered."

Kono had a thought and began looking around. There certainly were light posts around, but it didn't appear that there were security cameras anywhere around.

"They certainly have a lot of trust at this company if they think they aren't going to get robbed." She pointed out.

The three men began looking around as well, and Steve almost sighed in defeat.

"Unbelievable. No security cameras? Who doesn't have security cameras?"

"Clearly, Oahu Shipping Company." Danny commented.

* * *

After her class had let out at 12:15, Pen had decided to go down the street to the local café to get a chicken salad sandwich. They had the best she had ever tasted; they were even on a croissant!

Pen sat in the café and happily ate her sandwich and sipped at a bottle of water. As per usual when she ate alone, she grabbed a seat facing the window, over looking the street outside. Her sole purpose for this: people watching. Pen loved to people watch. She didn't have a class again until 3 o'clock, so Pen had ample time to do this activity.

Once Pen had finished her sandwich though, she suddenly didn't feel in the mood to people watch. So, she decided to just head back to her office for the remaining time, to try and get those last few papers graded so she could hand them back.

She exited out of the café, turned, and smacked right into a hard wall. At least, she thought it was a hard wall, in fact, it was a person. A well dressed, male person in an Armani suit and Gucci loafers.

"Oh my God, I am so very sorry!" Pen said, apologetically, pretty much too embarrassed to look up at the guy (who was really tall) she had practically assaulted.

"It's quite alright, it's my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." The man's voice was deep and pleasant. This caused Pen to look up and she almost lost her breath. The man had sandy blonde hair perfectly styled and bright blue eyes. He had a charming smile on his face, and a twinkle in those baby blues that she instantly took notice of. The man was incredibly handsome to say the least. Completely gorgeous and swoon worthy actually.

"I'm Eric Peterson," he said, introducing himself.

"Penelope Harrison." She replied, taking the hand he offered. But instead of shaking it, he brought her knuckles to his mouth and placed a light kiss there. This caused her to blush furiously and glance away from him.

"A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Pen replied, suddenly feeling very awkward. She was not used to a guy being so… forward with her. No one had ever kissed her knuckles like they did in the old movies.

"Do we need to trade insurance information?" He joked, Pen giggled. Then she wanted to smack herself. She _giggled_?

"No, I don't think so. No damage here. Unless you have damage?"

"No, I don't. Perfectly fine." He replied.

You sure are fine, she thought to herself.

"Do you come to the Hau'oli Café often?" He asked her. She mentally shook herself out of the gutter.

"I do, actually. If I don't get lunch, I get coffee. They have the best coffee, in my opinion."

"Oh I agree 100 percent, which is why I come out of my way form work to get coffee here." He laughed, and Pen giggled again. God, what an idiot she was!

"Well, I have to get back to work myself, it was nice… bumping in to you."

"Same here, perhaps I will see you here again?" He asked, and Pen almost wanted to say that he seemed hopeful to experience another encounter, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Most likely." She replied, and scurried back down the street to the Upper Bishop building on Bishop Street that held her office. When she was settled back in her office, she finally took a deep breath in and out.

What had just happened? She had bumped into an extremely attractive man, and he didn't seem disgusted by her or anything. He seemed… interested in her? Maybe? Obviously, Pen had enough self-confidence to match the top of a pin. He had been interested in seeing her again! Pen suddenly couldn't wait until her next visit to the Hau'oli Café.

**A/N 2: Well, here's Chapter Two! I hope you enjoyed it. This is the first time in the story that I'm attempting to write a procedural thing. I hope I did it all right. At least enough to be convincing. What is really going on? What kind of conspiracy is taking place? Who is this Eric Peterson guy? Well, you'll just have to find out. Next chapter, Steve and Pen finally meet, but it's not exactly the best of meetings. Hawaii Pacific University is an actual college in Honolulu. I did my research on it, even going so far as to match building names and street names. I guess that's just my OCD wanting to be as authentic as I can. I've personally never been to Hawaii, so I can't really speak from experience. I do have to say, since watching the show I really want to visit! **


	3. Chapter 3: Dr Harrison meets McGarrett

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Three: Dr. Harrison Meets Commander McGarrett**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter Two**

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pen, it's me."

"Danny, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Pen asked as she made her way downstairs from her office to one of the lecture halls.

"I need to speak with you about a case."

"Sounds important. Do I need to cancel my class?"

"Um… no, we can wait. How long is the class?"

"It's a 50 minute class. I can shorten my lecture so that I finish early. It's no big deal." Pen offered, entering the lecture hall that she taught her Roman Empire class in. There were a few students already there, set up and ready to take notes.

"That would be awesome. It's kind of important. We'll be there shortly. What room are you in?" Danny asked.

"I'm in the Upper Bishop building, second floor, room 2124. Just come on in and take a seat when you get here."

"Thanks, we'll be there in a bit."

"Sounds good. See you then." The two friends ended the call, and Pen wondered what could be so important? Maybe her Friday will end on an exciting note? Pen set down her brief case on the desk at the front of the room and began to set up the Powerpoint she used for visual aid. She dragged over the podium she used to hold her lecture notes, and pulled out a stack of handouts she had just had copied. The handouts she used to put key terms on that she wanted her students to be able to remember for midterms and finals, and sometimes she added images or funny cartoons. It was a method she had learned from one of her undergraduate professors, and it seemed like an effective teaching tool.

Pen glanced at the wall clock at the back of the lecture hall. It was five minutes to 3 o'clock, and a big chunk of the class was coming in right now. She had been absolutely thrilled when she found out the amount of people taking her Roman Empire class. Normally when she taught this course at the previous university, there were only maybe fifteen people taking the class. Here, the class almost filled the entire lecture hall that sat about fifty. The desks were situated in a stadium seating type deal; old school lecture style.

Right at 3 o'clock, Pen called her class to attention and began to lecture about the infamous emperor, Caligula.

* * *

"Alright, so, to recap what we've got: a dead security guard from a shipping company pulled from the ocean, the murder weapon being this God knows how old, knife. A primary crime scene with not much to go on except some blood and an empty container that shouldn't be empty. No security cameras around the container to give us even an inkling of a lead on who moved whatever was in the container. Which brings us to, what was really in the container, and why was it missing?"

"More importantly…" Steve began, adding to Danny's brief synopsis. "Why wasn't anyone worried that the contents of that container were missing?"

When the four members of Five-0 had returned to the front office to inform Bud that the contents of the container were missing, he didn't even bat an eyelash.

"Missing?" He had asked.

"Yes, they're gone. There's nothing in the container."

"Well, whatever was in there must have been picked up already and I didn't know about it." Bud had answered simply.

"So, you don't keep records of when stuff gets picked up?" Danny had asked incredulously.

"This is Hawaii." Bud had said, like that should be the answer to all their questions.

"What does that mean?" Danny had asked irritated. "You don't keep records in Hawaii?"

"We do keep records." Bud had answered defensively. "We just don't keep very good records."

Danny had wanted to punch the guy out at that point, but Chin had pulled him away before he got violent.

"This whole case is just strange." Danny said. Steve, in the driver seat of the Camaro, stopped at a red light.

"I think we should talk to the owner of the company and ask him why he doesn't keep very good records."

"I agree." Danny said.

"We'll go talk to your special friend now, and we'll call it a day and talk to the owner tomorrow. That alright with you?" Steve asked.

"I guess there goes brunch tomorrow with Grace." Danny sighed. Sometimes he hated his job when it took him away from his little girl.

"We can go after." Steve offered. Danny was a little surprised, but thanked Steve nonetheless.

"See, I'm not a total psychopath." Steve grinned. Danny just shook his head.

* * *

Steve McGarrett wouldn't admit it, but he was still slightly baffled that he had yet to hear about this elusive godmother that lived in Hawaii. He had been working with Danny for a few months now, and he hadn't heard about this woman once. Steve kept stride with Danny easily as he followed him to the Upper Bishop Building, after having parked the Camaro in a parking garage. Danny took the stairs up to the second floor two at a time, and Steve kept pace. All the while, Steve had this mental image in his brain of an old, wizened woman, with huge coke-bottle lens glasses. What he actually saw was definitely not what he expected.

Danny had entered a door towards the back of the lecture hall that almost reminded Steve of his Annapolis days. Now Steve understood why they had to go up a few stairs once they had entered a door marked 2124. They found themselves in a tiered lecture hall. Both men took seats up at the top of the hall and looked down on the rest of the class. There were 40-someodd people in the room, all clearly rapt in attention and taking notes. Projected on a screen was a picture of a bust of some Roman person or other, and at the front of the room stood the most intriguing woman Steve had ever seen.

She was young, probably late twenties, maybe thirty. She wore a black pencil skirt with a white collared shirt, a stylish black blazer, and black heels to complete the look. She had beautiful curly hair, and shining eyes behind stylish, rectangular lenses, not the coke-bottles that Steve had hypothesized. There was just something about her, she wasn't like the stick-figure beauties (she actually had some substance to her) that Steve had encountered, but she was striking in her own way, and had a great smile. She held a clicker in her hand to advance the Powerpoint whenever she needed too. She looked completely at ease in front of the class and she spoke with such tone and conviction that everyone was listening in.

"And so, having had enough of his bullshit, the Praetorian Guard decided that it's time to bump off Caligula. Now, I've briefly mentioned the Praetorian Guard before, but I really want you to take note of them. They are what can make or break an emperor. They were an elite force, kind of like your Green Berets or Navy SEALs today. The Guard were like the Secret Service because they were the bodyguards of the emperor, and they also were a form of policing agency within the city of Rome. Not to mention, they were sometimes sent on missions throughout the empire as per order of the emperor. So, basically, the Guard was badass, and they held a lot more political clout than people ever really intended to give them. The assassination of Caligula in January of A.D. 41 is a perfect example of this power they held. They were fed up with his shit, so they and a few people from the Senate decided it was time to take him out.

"Now, there are varying accounts of how they really carried out the act, but one of my personal favorites I learned from a professor in my undergrad was that they murdered him fairly quickly and easily, and then came the problem. For those few minutes where they were standing around, wondering what to do next, they had created a power vacuum. Who was going to take over now? Legend has it, that the Guard found good old uncle Claudius cowering and hiding behind a curtain in the emperor's palace and pretty much said 'Alright you, you're emperor'. And that was the end of Caligula." Here, the woman paused and looked up to where Steve and Danny sat. She gave a slight smile to Danny and continued on.

"Alright guys, I'm going to let you go early today. I know you're all disappointed about that." There were mumbled responses of happiness to this news. "Next class, I'm going to talk about uncle Claudius. He's actually pretty awesome. He was technically the black sheep of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, but he made it work. Just do the readings assigned in the syllabus and we'll be good to go for next time. You guys have a great weekend! Don't do anything too crazy!" All the students began packing up and left. One or two stayed back to speak to the woman about something, which she responded to as she packed up her stuff. Danny stood then and motioned for Steve to follow him. He walked down the stairs to the front of the class where the woman was talking to one more student.

"Of course you can write your paper on the Guard. I think that you'll really enjoy researching and reading about them. They were really an interesting bunch. If you need any help finding some primary sources, just let me know. I've got some things I could supply you with."

"Thanks so much Dr. Harrison. That would be great." The female student said, flashing a smile at her and then rushing out of the room. Steve felt his heart leap when the woman turned her gaze to him. What the fuck?

"Danno! I feel like I haven't talked to you or seen you in weeks!" The woman said, throwing her arms around Danny. She was only an inch shorter than the ex-New Jersey cop, who was only about 5'5" himself.

"We just had a beer together the other day," Danny laughed.

"Eh, I know… still…" She said with a smile.

Danny then turned Pen to Steve's direction.

"Pen, this is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, my partner. Steve, this is Doctor Penelope Harrison."

Steve held his hand out to her with a wide smile that Danny hardly ever saw from him. Danny's brow arched.

Pen looked down at Steve's outstretched hand like it was moldy cheese. Then she rolled her eyes and slapped her hand into his and gave it a sloppy shake. She made to pull her hand from his, but he held it firmly. Inexplicably, warmth spread from her hand, up her arm, and into her chest, right to her heart. She swallowed and looked up into Steve's eyes.

She had to admit that he was handsome. Scratch that, he was sexy, rugged, and absolutely eatable. He had dark, closely cropped hair, sexy stubble sprinkling his strong jaw, and compelling green-blue-gray eyes. Pen could legitimately not tell. Her heart did weird flutters in her chest at the cheeky smile he was giving her, and it was all she could do to not act surly. He finally let go of her hand, and it immediately felt cold. Pen shook this feeling off.

"So this is the psychotic new partner?" Pen asked. Sometimes, she was blunt to a fault.

"Wow, you're calling me psycho?" Steve asked, mock hurt. He wasn't hurt, things people said about him didn't bother him one bit.

"I don't think I used the word psycho. I just say that you're crazy." Danny replied, somewhat sheepishly.

"No, psycho is my own description. As is reckless, careless, irresponsible, with no regard for human safety." Pen was on a roll. She had wanted to give this McGarrett guy a piece of her mind since Danny started telling her about him. She didn't even _care_ that his unorthodox methods got the bad guys.

"Ouch." Steve said, that cheeky smirk still on his face. Pen huffed and rolled her eyes again.

"It's nice to meet you too, Doctor Harrison." Steve said, a bit sarcastically.

"I can't say it's an entire pleasure to meet you, Commander." Pen said. She knew she was being incredibly rude, but she was concerned for Danny's safety.

"You can call me Steve." He said, continuing on with that infuriating "I-don't-care" attitude.

Pen decided to ignore him, and just focus on Danny.

"What can I do for you?"

"We need to talk to you about something pertaining to a case we're working on right now." Pen nodded.

"Alright, let's go up to my office. There's a class coming in now." She nodded towards the students that were filing in.

Pen grabbed up her bags and led the two Five-0's out into the hallway and too the elevator.

"So, this an important case?" Pen asked them when they stepped into the elevator, pushing the button to the 11th floor.

"Every case is important." Steve commented. Again, Pen chose to ignore him.

The elevator dinged and slid open when it reached the 11th floor, and the two men allowed her to step out of the elevator first to lead the way. The hallways were lined with pictures of the History Department faculty and the various places they've visited. There were also pictures of the different cultures and places that they teach about, and even some artifacts. Pen came to a halt in front of her office door which was decorated with all kinds of postcards and printed pictures of Roman ruins and busts of famous Romans. Pen unlocked the door and flicked the light on when she entered. She set down her bag on the floor by her desk, and slid into her desk chair. She motioned for the two to take a seat in the two chairs in front of her desk. Danny easily plopped himself down onto one, and Steve did the same. Both scanned the room, taking in all that was on the walls.

"Hey, everything looks good." Danny said, nodding in acceptance of her décor.

"That's right. I forgot you hadn't visited my office yet. So you like?"

"Definitely. Russell Crowe… bad ass." Pen smiled.

"Alright, so, what do you need to know?" She asked.

"We need you to tell us whatever you can about this." Danny began, placing the evidence bag with the dagger (which he had been securely carrying around in a messenger bag) on the desk. For the longest time, Pen just sat and stared at it. Steve was almost about to say something, until she finally proved that she hadn't suddenly frozen. She picked it up, almost reverently, and looked it over.

"Where did you get this?" She asked suddenly.

"At a crime scene." Danny replied, still not giving her the whole story.

"This is… absolutely incredible." She said in awe. "This is a dagger. Roman. The butt of the hilt, you can sort of tell, but it's kind of worn, was an eagle. An eagle was an important symbol to Rome. The standard of the Roman Legions was an eagle. It was a symbol of their power and might. Based on the style and the length of it, I want to say it's from the Republican period, although I can't be sure until you do some dating tests.

"The dagger is this length for a purpose. It's about the length of a man's hand from middle finger to the wrist. Easily concealed behind one's hand. Much like the conspirators may have done to Julius Caesar when they executed him in the _Curia _or the Senate House; so he wouldn't see the knives coming."

Pen rolled her chair over the window to get a better look in the natural light. Danny knew it was only a matter of time before—

"Is that blood!" Pen exclaimed.

Too late.

Pen rolled back over to the desk and looked at Danny with concern.

"Is this blood?" Pen asked again.

"Yes it's blood." Steve replied.

"It… it looks…"

"Fresh?" Steve supplied. Pen forgot that she was ignoring him for a second, and nodded at him.

"That's because it is." Danny supplied.

"What is a dagger… that's over two thousand years old… doing with fresh blood on it?"

"Oh come on." Steve said with a playful voice that really wasn't appropriate for this situation. "You've got a doctoral degree. Can't you figure it out?"

Pen shot him the most scathing look she could muster. She _really_ wasn't like this guy… at all.

"It was found in a dock worker at Oahu Shipping. The coroner identified it as some sort of Roman dagger. I knew you were the only person I would trust to give us more information on it." Danny finally spoke up.

"Oh my God." She breathed. She looked down at the dagger, and its appeal immediately fled her interest. She set it back down on the desk in front of Danny. She couldn't admire it anymore knowing it have killed someone.

"Could you tell us anything more about it? Maybe how it got here?" Steve piped up. Pen looked at him, and when her gaze met his, he felt his heart flop. What the fuck? Why is his heart flopping when this woman who clearly had disdain for him?

"Well," Pen said, actually addressing him. He felt he was making progress! "You definitely shouldn't be pulling Roman daggers out of men's chests… especially in Hawaii. As to how it got here… I can only think of one thing."

Judging by the look on her face, Steve could tell that whatever this "one thing" was really pissed her off. Looks like she was angrier at this "one thing" than she was at him, which he felt was a step in the right direction.

"Smugglers." She said through gritted teeth.

"Smugglers?" Danny asked. Pen nodded.

"Antiquities smuggling is more common than one might think. It's absolutely the bane to any academic or archeologist's existence. It's the one thing we can all agree on to hate. We'd all love to throw the offenders to the lions." Pen laughed at her own cheesy joke. It was Roman Historian humor. Lions. Lions in the Coliseum. They made criminals fight in the arena. Get it?

"You wanna elaborate some more there, George Carlin?" Danny asked.

"Well, smuggling is a lot like tomb robbing in Egypt. Antiquities can be very, very profitable if sold to the right person. Someone stands to gain a lot of money from this venture, if indeed that is what's happening here. Someone could get very rich off this. Plus, Hawaii is a perfect stepping-stone. Much like the reason the United States wanted to annex this place so badly. Its location is perfect for continued trade throughout the Pacific. There's a black market all over the world for antiquities. Things could come here from all over the place. Stuff from China or Japan, in this case, stuff from the Mediterranean…"

"How do they pull it off?" Danny asked.

"The artifacts are taken from illegal or unauthorized excavation sites throughout the world. They're smuggled through middlemen, mostly inconspicuous shipping companies and such, where people don't ask a lot of questions on what's inside a container. And then everything is sold off to antique dealers, antique connoisseurs and museums. Often, the buyers don't know they're getting illicit artifacts. Luckily though, the demand for provenances are being made more frequently now before payment on an object is made."

"What's a provenance?" Danny asked.

"A provenance is basically the history behind an artifact. Where it's gone, who's owned it, etcetera. It's pretty standard to receive one when you buy an original work of art."

"You're pretty knowledgeable about all this stuff." Steve pointed out. Pen shrugged.

"I took a class on this when I was in my Master's program. I really enjoyed the class. I hadn't really known this whole black market thing existed. The illicit antiquities trade is an unfair stain on the world. Often times, when the artifacts are extracted from the archeological sites, the smugglers have no regard for the site, and it's often destroyed. Which means that any other thing that could've been found was destroyed as well. All that history, all that new information we could get about a civilization, gone in an instant. People are losing their ethnic and cultural heritage to this.

"You may have heard, within the past few years, there's actually been a call from some of the places where these great civilizations started to have their artifacts returned to them. For instance, it's been a debate for years whether the British Museum should return the Elgin Marbles back to Greece. They're part of the Parthenon you know."

Silence filled the room once Pen had stopped talking. Danny was making some notes on his notepad, and Steve just sat there and looked at her. His face was blank, and Pen really wished she could know what he was thinking.

"I liked your Navy SEAL comment from earlier… about the Praetorian Guard." He said, randomly. Pen was a little taken aback at first.

"Um… thanks?"

"I don't know if Danno told you or not, but I'm an ex-Navy SEAL." He stated, like he wanted to impress her or something.

"How lovely. And yes, he told me." She said, trying not to let on that she actually was very impressed. The SEALs certainly did his body well. Pen could tell from the black t-shirt he wore that strained across his impressive pectorals and around his biceps. She also saw tattoos peaking out from beneath the sleeves of the shirt, and she found herself really wanting him to remove the offending garment. She mentally shook herself. Get a grip, Pen! She also had to mentally slap herself from thinking about how those cargo pants he was wearing hugged an impressive back end.

"Anyway…" Danny spoke finally, saving the conversation from getting off topic and going somewhere Pen would rather not. "I think that's all we need. Thanks Pen, I appreciate your time."

"Not a problem. That was my last class of the day. I'm going to finish up some grading and head home. Are we still on for brunch tomorrow with Grace?" She asked.

"Yep, we are. I'm going to be on my way to get her in a few, actually."

"Awesome." Pen grinned. She loved her goddaughter very much. She was the best kid.

Danny stood and grabbed the evidence bag to safely return it to the messenger bag. Pen and Steve stood as well.

"I hope I've been of help to you guys." She said.

"You most definitely have." Steve replied.

"Yeah, Pen, you really have. Thank you again."

"Anytime I can help you, I will. If you need to know anything else, you know my number and you know where I live." Pen chuckled.

"That I do." Danny replied with a slight smile. "Well, we'll leave you alone. I'll text you later and give you the details about brunch."

"Sounds great. Give Gracie a big hug for me when you get her and tell her I can't wait to see her."

"I most definitely will."

Danny turned and headed for the door where he stopped and looked expectantly at Steve to follow him. But Steve hadn't finished yet with Pen.

"Well, Penny… it was nice to meet you. Really." He said, holding his hand out to her again. She couldn't believe he had just called her Penny. She hadn't been called Penny in _years._ Not since she went by it all through middle and high school. She actually hated that name, but when she said it, her heart did unexpected flip-flops in her chest. She didn't like that. But, Pen had already been extremely rude to him, she didn't want to be even more of a bitch and correct him on this.

"It was nice to meet you to Com—Steve." She reluctantly said, taking his outstretched hand. That weird warm feeling went up her arm again and into her chest. Maybe she needed to go to the doctor. She hadn't been for a physical in too long, maybe sometime was wrong with her.

"I'm sure we'll see it each other." Steve said again, the cheeky look back on his face. It made Pen flush in anger. At least, she thought it was anger.

"Yeah, sure." Was what she managed to say. With one final good bye to the both of them, they left her office and disappeared down the hallway. Pen sat back in her chair, and turned it back to the window. A few minutes later, the two men from Five-0 exited the building and walked down the street toward the parking garage. She watched their progress and couldn't help but watch the ex-SEAL.

Steve McGarrett had and had not been what she expected. She hadn't expected his appearance to be the way it was. And she hadn't expected him to be so… charming… in his own way. But she had expected his cocky attitude which was there brimming below the surface. And she had expected him to acknowledge and not seem perturbed by the fact that he was completely crazy at the most inopportune times. Pen wouldn't admit it, but she was glad she had finally met Steve McGarrett, and a small… very small, like microscopic… part of her wanted to see him again… badly.

**A/N: And thus was the first encounter between Steve and Pen. I hope you liked it. Whenever I write fan fictions sometimes I struggle with the proper characterization of people. I hope I capture the essence of Danny and Steve and Chin and Kono all right. I suppose I have to keep watching the show to get better and better at it. This whole antiquities smuggling thing is actually pretty true, although I've made some assumptions about it. Not really sure how true those assumptions are or not. But the whole Hawaii being a stepping-stone for trade with Asia is true. I've been studying for my Diplomatic History final and I just re-read about the annexation ordeal with Hawaii and why the U.S. wanted it. See, I totally study (sometimes). Also, because it's finals coming up and I have A LOT to do, it may be a few days before I can get another chapter up. Hopefully, whenever I take breaks from the craziness, I can work on the next updates. Hope you enjoyed this one!**


	4. Chapter 4: See A Man About a Murder

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Four: See A Man About A Murder**

**Disclaimer: Again, I own NOTHING to do with Hawaii Five-0 except any characters you don't recognize as being from the show. It's a damn shame though.**

**A/N: So, I was reading over the previous chapter again and realized how many typos there were. That would teach me to read over and post something at 2a.m. in the morning! Which brings me too: if anyone would be willing to be my Beta that would be awesome! If not, no big deal, I'll just not post things in the wee hours of the morning anymore, haha.**

"So, there is a very, very high possibility that we have antiquities smuggling going on, on the island." Danny said, as the two men climbed back into Danny's Camaro. Danny had tried to usurp Steve from the driver's seat, but was batted away. The guy had some nerve, considering this was _his_ damn car!

"It wouldn't be the worst thing being smuggled on and off the island." Steve commented as the tires squealed on their way out of the parking garage. He had called Kono and Chin to meet them at Five-0 headquarters to regroup and reevaluate all the information that they had.

"True, but did you see that face that she made? This shit clearly pisses her off… a lot."

"Well, she's an academic. They have to get riled up about stuff like that."

There was a lull in the conversation as they came to a stop at a red light.

"So…" Steve began, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel.

"So…?"

"So… is Penny seeing anyone?" Steve blurted.

There was silence from the passenger seat and Steve looked over at Danny. Danny just looked back at him with the most incredulous look, and then, the ex-Jersey cop's body started shaking in silent laughter. Then, it was full blown, laughs out loud, of which he had to catch his breath a couple of times for lack of oxygen.

"Y-you… gotta… be kidding… me." Danny said, in between gasps for air.

"Um… no, I'm completely serious. It was just a question."

Danny couldn't help but laugh again. The idea of his best friend and his occasionally, but mostly effectively psychotic partner, together… well that was just hilarious as Hell. Once he had finally gotten a hold of himself, he took one last gasp for air and decided to be honest, as he usually was, with his partner.

"First of all, don't ever call her Penny again. She's hated that name for a long time. Second of all, no… she's not seeing anyone. Third and most importantly: don't even try… you're not her type."

"What is her type?" Steve asked, curiously.

"Well… she always seems to fall for those preppy, lawyer types. I'm not really sure why."

"So… she goes for stuck up, shyster, assholes?"

Danny paused a minute.

"Well, when you put it like that… I guess she does."

"And how does that work for her?" Steve asked.

A shadow passed over Danny's face, and his brow suddenly furrowed in anger.

"It doesn't."

Steve knew that there was a story here, but he also knew he wasn't going to be getting it anytime soon, judging by the extremely pissed off look on his partner's face.

A few minutes later Steve whipped into a parking spot in front of Five-0 headquarters. Once inside, they found Chin and Kono organizing the information on the touch screen computers all around the room. Steve and Danny filled them in on what Pen had reported to them, and added it to the case notes. Steve took point to summarize what they had so far.

"Ok, so, we have William Morris, a night security guard killed with a Roman dagger. His body was found several miles down current from the Oahu Shipping Company where he worked. Upon finding the primary crime scene, we found traces of blood and an empty shipping container nearby. What can you guys tell me about lab results?"

"The blood was definitely Morris'. As far as fingerprints go, we have nothing. There were none found on or inside the shipping container. I'll send the dagger down to the lab to have it processed for prints as well, but don't be surprised if we don't get anything." Kono reported.

"There was also no sign of forced entry on the lock of the container." Chin spoke up. "Nor was there any sign of it on the door itself. Whoever took the stuff out of the container had a key for it. Probably an inside job. Considering how no one seemed too concerned that things were missing…"

"So, basically, right now we have nothing." Danny said from his perch on a rolling chair. He had been silent up to this point, taking all the information in.

"It appears that way." Chin said with an air of defeat.

"There's got to be something we're missing." Steve pondered. "Were you able to get in touch with the owner?"

"Yes," Kono said. "I told him that you wanted to meet him. He said he was going to be at Ehukai Beach tomorrow at 1p.m. He said he goes there on Saturdays to surf."

"Well, sorry to interrupt his surfing…" Steve said sarcastically. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his right hand. He was beginning to get frustrated by this case. There was always a fingerprint or… something to tie it to someone. Right now, they just have a dead body and no leads to go on. This was extremely unacceptable to him. He had a duty to William Morris' wife and son. He sighed.

"Alright guys," He began. "Just… everyone go home, sleep on it, and we'll come back tomorrow with fresh eyes."

They all nodded and began packing up their things. Kono carefully grabbed the evidence bag with the dagger to take to the lab on her way out. Hopefully something would yield from that.

"Can I have the keys back to _my_ _car_ now?" Danny asked Steve on his way out the door.

"Oh, right, sure." Steve said, reaching into his pocket to extract the keys. He dropped them into Danny's hand and gave him a smirk. Danny just rolled his eyes and left the room, mumbling incoherently the whole way.

When Steve was the only one left in the room, he went through the evidence they had gathered so far, again. Nothing, nothing much was coming to mind. He rubbed his eyes and decided that he should leave too. On the way home, he grabbed some Chinese take out.

Once at home, he plopped down on the couch in front of the television and flipped through the channels while he ate. He was distracted though from both tasks. The case bothered him. Hell, all cases bothered him that he couldn't immediately figure out. His mind kept wandering back to that woman though. Penelope. Pen. Penny, whatever the hell she wanted to be called. To Steve, she looked like a Penny. He thought of the scathing looks she gave him, and the scathing comments she had made. Those only succeeded in making him more curious about her. He wanted to see her again. To see that smile of hers. He wanted that smile to be directed at him for a change, instead of the creased brow and the flushed cheeks out of anger. Hell, she had no reason to be angry at him. He hadn't done anything to her. Granted though, he had put Danny in danger… several times… all right, more than several, but she didn't know the real Steve. There was a caring, sensitive guy under this bravado SEAL exterior… ah who was he kidding?

* * *

The next morning, Pen woke up bright and early at seven o'clock. It wasn't by choice though. Her damn alarm clock had gone off again… when she hadn't set it the night before… she swore the thing was possessed. She wasn't due to the Kakahiaka diner until 11 o'clock where she would meet Danny and Grace, so she decided to get herself ready and make the trip to get some of her favorite coffee.

Ok, she admitted to herself as she slid in the door to the Hau'oli Café, she was mostly here to see if she could catch a glimpse of that blonde god again. The other reason was really the coffee though. It was like the elixir of the gods, and she needed it to get herself kick started for the day. Danny had mentioned something about hoping she would watch Grace for a couple of hours after brunch so he and Steve could work an angle on their case. Of course, she hadn't refused. She loved spending time with Grace.

The café was definitely busy, it was a Saturday morning after all, and everyone was either a tourist, or on their way out surfing. Pen ordered her usual, and sat at one of the small tables, in sight of the door, in plain view… just in case you know?

Sure enough, maybe ten minutes later, Eric Peterson walked in the door. He wasn't decked out in Armani today. In fact, he looked like a regular Joe. He wore black board shorts, a plain white t-shirt and a Hurley baseball hat over his blonde hair. Damn, that suit hid a lot. He was lean, but built, as evidenced by the biceps that strained against the short sleeves of his shirt. Pen suddenly felt embarrassed. Holy shit. What if he spotted her looking at him? Then he would DEFINITELY know that she was there on purpose. She swiveled her head around, trying to look for either something to hide behind, or a decent escape route. She suddenly felt very exposed and felt the need to get out of there.

"Well, hey there, Miss Harrison. Run into any more people lately?"

Too late. She had been zeroed, approached, and addressed. She felt flames lick up her cheeks, and could only imagine that she looked almost like a tomato.

"Uh…" She said intelligently. Dammit, Pen, get a hold of yourself! "Nope." She could've smacked the heel of her hand against her forehead for being so eloquent.

"Lucky me then, I guess." He said with this bright, white dazzling smile. "You mind if I join you?"

"Um…" Again with the eloquence. Pen tried to look anywhere but directly at him. It wasn't working well. "Of course!" She blurted.

"Excellent. Give me a minute to get a cup of coffee." He said, before he disappeared to stand in line. When he was out of eyesight, Pen did do a face-palm. She deserved a huge smack across the face, to be truthful. She was acting like an idiot around this guy! What was wrong with her?

A few minutes later, Eric returned with his coffee, and slid into the chair directly across from her. He felt a lot closer than she had anticipated, because the table she had sat at was probably no big a round than a man-hole cover.

"So, it's a Saturday, it's a beautiful day outside, what do you plan on doing with it?" He asked her, with that smile of his. Pen started doing the eye avoiding game again, and felt herself blushing more. Man she was such a socially awkward person around men.

"I'm… I'm spending it with my goddaughter." She finally said.

"Well that sounds like fun." He said, taking genuine interest in the conversation. "Have any fun and exciting plans?"

"Actually… no." Pen said, and the more she talked, the more she felt comfortable. She took a second to sigh in relief, then continued. "We usually just come up with something on the spot. I think she might be tired of visiting museums though." He laughed. It was a deep sound, not at all unpleasant.

"Aw. Museums are fun though." Eric said. Pen's heart skipped. A man that likes museums? That's a rarity in and of itself.

"Me too." She said. "Can you believe I've been here over seven months and I haven't been to the _USS Arizona_ Memorial yet? And I call myself an amateur World War II historian." And she actually was. Her second favorite period in history, besides Ancient Rome, was World War II. More specifically though, she really enjoyed the European Theater.

"You should change that." He teased. "I've lived here my whole life. We took class trips there every year in elementary school. It's a must!" Pen laughed.

"I know that feeling." She admitted. "I grew up in Virginia, right by the battlefields at Yorktown, and we would go there and Colonial Williamsburg every year in school. No wonder I hate American history." This made Eric laugh again, which made Pen smile. His laughter was infectious, as crazy and weird as that sounded.

"Well, fancy meeting you here." Came a familiar sounding voice to Pen's side. She turned her head, and the smile on her face immediately dropped. For there, standing in his… don't know if you could really call it glory… was Steve McGarrett. Pen wondered if he had anything other than tactical pants and t-shirts in his closet. Today he was wearing a pair of blue tactical pants and a white t-shirt. He wore desert combat boots and a huge wristwatch, clearly a SEAL thing. It probably shot out tiny missiles or something.

"Oh God." She mumbled, and this time chose to ignore the little flutter her heart made at seeing him again. She had decided last night to write off the urge to see him again as a moment of total insanity. There was just no way she wanted to see his crazy ass again. Yet there he was!

"Not time for brunch yet?" He said, attempting to make contact again with her. Pen silently groaned and shook her head.

"Not yet, about forty-five minutes." She answered briskly.

Steve glanced at Eric and did the universal upward nod, and said a "hey." Eric returned the gesture, and Pen could feel awkwardness surrounding them in waves. Or maybe that was just her feeling awkward.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting something." Steve said, holding up one of his hands in mock surrender, as the other hand was occupied holding a coffee cup. "Just thought I'd say 'hi,' when I saw you sitting over here."

"What are you doing here?" She blurted out. There she went again, being rude to him. She didn't know what it was about him that made her uncharacteristically rude.

"I come here to get coffee sometimes. They have the best coffee in the world. And I know, I've been around the world." Steve replied, a smile on his face. It wasn't that cheeky smile that he had had on yesterday, this was a… well it was a real smile. And it made Pen's heart flop… again. Stupid thing.

"I agree with you man, totally." Eric agreed, taking a sip of his coffee for emphasis. Steve just nodded, not taking his eyes off of Pen. It was unnerving her actually. She wondered if that's what he did to prisoners to get them to "talk."

"Well, I've got to go…" Steve said. "Gotta… do that whole work thing." Pen just nodded. "I guess I'll see you around?" Pen nodded again stiffly. "Later." He said, a blanket goodbye for both Pen and Eric, before he turned and strode out of the café looking all… sexy and manly.

"Friend of yours?" Eric asked her after a beat or two.

"He's no friend of mine." She said, defensively. "He's my best friend's partner. I just met him yesterday." Eric just nodded and sipped at his coffee again. Pen glanced down at the time on her iPhone.

"I guess I should go. I've got to get to the Kakahiaka diner across town." Pen said reluctantly, grabbing up her purse and her cup of coffee. "It was good to see you again, Eric. And not because I bumped into you this time." He flashed her those pearly whites again.

"It was great to see you again as well, Penelope. Perhaps I'll see you again?"

"Please, you can call be Pen, and yes, perhaps I will see you again." She said the last bit kind of flirty-like and she gave herself a mental high five. Her groove was coming back. "Goodbye." She said, giving him a small wave, before leaving him at the table and walking out onto the busy sidewalk outside.

* * *

"Aunt Pen!" Grace exclaimed, launching her little body into Pen's as she approached the front of the diner where Danny and she had been waiting.

"Hey there girl!" Pen greeted back, picking Grace up into her arms and giving her a twirl. "How've you been doing?"

"Great!" Grace replied, grabbing Pen's hand and pulling her into the diner behind her father.

"And how's school?" Pen asked as the hostess sat the three in a booth. Danny sat on one side, and Grace pulled Pen to sit with her on the other side.

"Good! I've made some new friends. Amanda and Stephanie. They've invited me over to sleepover next weekend!" The little girl said excitedly.

"That's fantastic! I used to love sleepovers! Maybe you and I should have a sleepover one time. What do you think?"

"I think that would be so cool!" Grace said with this huge grin as she opened up her menu to peruse it.

"Oh, hi there Danny." Pen said with a smile, not having yet gotten the opportunity to greet her friend.

"So you care about my presence then?" Danny asked, mock hurt.

"Come on, Danno." Grace coaxed. "You know we love you!" Danny laughed.

"Yes, I do know this."

Grace talked a mile a minute during the entirety of brunch, with Pen and Danny only getting a word in here or there. She only paused momentarily when she shoved huge bites of syrupy pancakes into her mouth, and when she took a bit of her bacon, and when she took a gulp of her orange juice. She talked about her teacher at school. She talked about her friends. She talked about the class guinea pig called Dexter. Pen felt a little awkward when she began talking about Stanley, her step dad, and Rachel. Pen could visibly tell that Danny felt as awkward as she. She suspected that Danny felt threatened by Step Stan, but Pen knew he had nothing to worry about. Grace absolutely adored her father, and he her. There was no way that that was going to change. About forty-five minutes later the check came, and Pen and Danny reached for it at the same time.

"Come on, the man has to pay when he takes a lady… well in this case ladies… out to eat." Danny said.

"While that is very gallant and chivalrous of you, you paid last time. Let me get it this time." Pen commented.

"Oh boy," Grace sighed. "Here we go again."

"I insist." Danny said again, a firm grip on the black folder they used to house the bill.

"No, _I_ insist." Pen replied, a firm grip on the folder as well.

"How do we settle this?" Danny asked. "Grace?"

"Hmm… I'm thinking of a number between one and twenty." Grace said with a sly little smile on her cute face.

"Eighteen." Danny said confidently.

"Thirteen." Pen said, equally as confident.

"Aunt Pen get's it. It was thirteen." Grace said with a smile. Pen snatched the folder out of Danny's hand, and stuck out her tongue at him in triumph.

"This is unbelievable. You're favorite number is eighteen, Grace."

"Yes, it is Danno." Grace said, that sly smile still present. "But Aunt Pen's favorite number is thirteen." Danny threw up his hands in defeat.

"It was rigged! The whole time it was rigged!" He said, in mock frustration. Grace broke out into furious giggles. "Just you wait little girl. I'm gonna tickle you!" Danny threatened, which caused Grace to giggle more.

Once Grace had gotten her giggle fest under control, she turned back to Pen.

"So, Aunt Pen, has there been any men around lately?" Pen had to admit, Grace reminded her of Danny everyday. It never ceased to amaze her.

"Well… Grace, not really."

"Not really? No guy?" She coaxed. Danny sat forward in his seat and set his elbows on the table looking expectantly at Pen.

"There's this _one_ guy…"

"Oh? Do tell?" This from Danny this time.

"I met him when I was getting coffee yesterday. And I saw him again today."

"What does he look like?" Grace asked. She had the same damn body language as her father. There was no mistaking the relationship there.

"Well, he's blonde, with blue eyes, and a nice smile."

"Is he hot?" Grace asked bluntly, taking Pen by surprise. Apparently, it took Danny by surprise too.

"What do you know about 'hot'?" He asked her, his voicing raising an octave.

"The girls at school talk about it all the time. Mostly invovling Davy Parker." Pen had to stifle a laugh. Danny didn't realize it, but his little girl was growing up.

"Well, is he?" Grace asked again, expecting an answer, no… demanding one.

"Um… yes Grace… he is… hot." Pen felt awkward telling that to an eight-year-old girl.

"A blonde hottie. Not really my type." Grace commented. Pen nearly went into a fit of giggles herself at the look on Danny's face. His mouth was hanging so widely open it could've caught flies.

Before he could start lecturing his daughter, Pen grabbed the black folder and pulled Grace out of the booth with her.

"Well, Danny, I've got Grace for as long as you need me too. You go and do your… thing." Pen said, before taking the check up to the cash register. Grace gave her dad a hug before he spoke to her about behaving herself, and then left the restaurant. Pen smiled to herself. These two people were probably her most favorite in the world (besides her mother of course, whom she loved very much).

Once the bill had been paid for, Pen held onto Grace's hand and led her out onto the sidewalk. This part of town wasn't as busy as downtown Honolulu was at this time of the day. Pen pulled Grace in one direction and just started walking.

"Alright, I'm taking requests on what you might want to do today." Pen said.

"Can we go to the aquarium?"

"Of course! That sounds like fun!"

And then, the two females set off towards Waikiki Aquarium.

* * *

Ehukai Beach was fairly populated once Danny and Steve had parked and walked up to the sand. This beach was apparently a daredevil's dream; to catch insanely tall waves. And Danny guessed their shipping company owner must be crazy. Both Five-0 men made their way toward a shaved ice cart where Kono had indicated they were to meet this guy. Danny (and Steve for that matter) was still kind of fuming over the fact that they had to meet this guy… at a beach… while he was surfing. _Surfing!_ Danny didn't think he would ever be able to understand the mentality down here.

While Danny fumed beside him, Steve stood with his hands casually placed on his hips. He had been thinking about earlier that morning when he had seen Pen with that blonde wonder. Danny had said that she wasn't seeing anyone… Steve severely hoped she wasn't. Then again, he had no idea where in the hell this sudden interest in this woman was coming from. There was just something… he sighed. He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure he'd _ever_ know.

Just then, a man with a surfboard under his arm jogged up to them, and stuck his board in the sand. It took Steve a second to realize he had seen this guy somewhere before. It was the blonde wonder boy from earlier!

"Hey, you guys must be Five-0 right?" He asked, brushing off his hand on his board shorts and holding his hand out to the two men. Danny wasted no time in shaking the man's hand, but Steve was still kind of shocked. Blondie took notice of Steve, and the light of recognition graced his face as well.

"Hey! It's you!" He stated with a smile. Steve finally took his hand and shook it briefly before letting go. He instantly disliked this guy even more.

"I'm Eric Peterson." He said, finally introducing himself.

"I'm Detective Williams, this is Commander McGarrett." Danny said, offering introductions for the both of them. It was a good thing too because Steve didn't know if he could speak without inexplicably wanting to punch this guy in the face.

"I've met Commander McGarrett before, but not formally." Ok, this guy's smile was really starting to grate on Steve.

"Oh?" Danny asked, looking at Steve expectantly.

"Yeah," Steve finally spoke. "Earlier this morning. He was drinking coffee with Pen at the Hau'oli Café."

Just then, a spark of something flashed across Danny's face, and his already hard outer shell hardened even more. Steve wasn't sure why, but he was glad they were both on the same page about this. Of course, for different reasons, but Steve didn't like how… weirdly perfect this guy was. Nope, didn't like him one bit.

"So, you must be the best friend then." Eric said, motioning to Danny. Danny was slightly taken aback. "Pen mentioned you." Steve tensed up when the man said her nickname. Like it was something only reserved for special people. What in the fuck was wrong with him? He wasn't sure, but he knew he never wanted this guy around Penny ever again.

**A/N 2: So, I hope you guys were able to watch the most recent episode. Did anyone else find it weird that the Chairman from Iron Chef: America was there? I mean, I know he was in "Brotherhood of the Wolf" and stuff, but… I legit was waiting for him to yell "Allez Cuisine!" I can't wait to see where this is all going though! But I don't think I can wait until January for new episodes! Dislike! But anyway, I hope you guys like this update. I had to take a break from studying for finals. My last one is today, so, we'll see how it goes. Middle East History. Fun stuff. **

**Ok, so, I feel terrible, because I have yet to do this yet, but I want to make a shout out and say a huge thank you to those of you that have reviewed. I greatly appreciate your kind comments, and I hope I don't disappoint you all! **


	5. Chapter 5: Remember Pearl Harbor

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Five: Remember Pearl Harbor**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Hawaii Five-0. Enough said.**

**A/N: I watched **_**Romancing the Stone**_** for the first time. Brilliant. After watching it, I kind of imagine Pen and Steve having a similar quirky adventure at some point in this story... we'll see, haha. If you have yet to see this movie I highly recommend it. **

"We just have a few questions for you, Mr. Peterson, it'll only take a few minutes." Danny said, in the most severe cop attitude that he could come up with. This must be the guy that Pen had been talking about at brunch. He was certainly blonde and blue eyed. Danny instantly disliked the man. He seemed EXACTLY like the others that Pen had dated before. He was the owner of a successful shipping company, and it was a family business, meaning that this guy had grown up in privilege. In other words: preppy. He was also a businessman, which, in Danny's opinion, was pretty close to a lawyer. EXACTLY like the other guys. Danny wasn't prepared to have Pen go through what she had been through before. He was going to nip this thing in the bud before anything came of it.

"Not a problem. What can I do for you guys?" Eric Peterson asked, looking way to cool and collected. He had no idea what Steve and Danny were planning.

"You are aware that one of your employees was murdered on your company's property?" Danny asked, taking out his notepad.

"Yes." Eric said gravely, his face falling in sadness. Steve couldn't tell whether it was really genuine or not. "I was away on a business trips up until yesterday morning. I had flowers sent to the family. I was very sorry to hear it."

Danny shook his head slightly. Well wasn't this guy just an upstanding citizen.

"Did you also know that, upon closer inspection of a clearly tampered with cargo container near where the body was found, we discovered that the contents had been stolen?"

"What was in the container?"

"Apparently it was imported crates of bottled olives from Greece." Danny supplied. Suddenly, Eric looked a little peeved.

"I know the supplier. I will have to compensate him for this loss, and send a formal apology. He makes good money off of those olives. They're only sold at one supermarket on the island; those things are basically a delicacy. He's going to lose a pretty penny."

Steve chose to ignore the fact that this asshole had unconsciously just said "pretty penny." Like "pretty Penny."

"We also wanted to know why it is that you don't have security cameras anywhere on the premises." Danny said again, pen poised over his notepad. Eric looked a little sheepish.

"I keep meaning to do that. My grandfather started this shipping company during World War II to help send supplies to the Allied powers. Then, my father took over the business and didn't believe in technology. When I took over a couple of years ago, the company _just_ saw its first computer. I'll make a note with my secretary on Monday to get that ball rolling."

Danny really openly wanted to shake his head in disgust at this guy, but he instead just made due with a discrete eye roll.

"You might want to talk to that Bud guy that's in charge of one of your shifts." Steve finally spoke up. "Neither he or the secretary there didn't seem like very good record keepers. At first, they couldn't find anything on the container. Then, when they were finally able to locate the information, they didn't seem too concerned over the missing items." Eric's cheeks flushed red. He looked a little more peeved.

"I will personally talk to them myself. I've been trying to run this company like my father and my grandfather before me: a little bit laid back... the Hawaiian way. But I guess it's time to tighten it up." The guy sighed, clearly frustrated but resigned.

"Did you know the deceased at all, Mr. Peterson?" Danny asked.

"No, unfortunately I did not. I was a part of his interview and hiring process. I try to do that with all new hires so I can get to know everyone a little. Other than that, I hadn't had much interaction with him. He had just been brought on a few weeks ago. Lately I've been out of the state, working on getting more business for the company. This is the first time in weeks I've been able to take a day and just surf."

Clearly he had enough time to hit on Pen though, Danny thought.

"Alright Mr. Peterson, I think that's all the questions we have for you today. Thank you for meeting us." Danny said, putting away his notepad. He kind of really badly wanted to get out of this guy's presence.

"Please, call me Eric, and if you guys need anything else don't hesitate to call me again."

Danny extracted one of his business cards and handed it over to Eric.

"Just in case you need to contact _us_."

Eric smiled and nodded at them. Then he waved good-bye, set the business card down with his stuff he had left on the beach, and ran back down toward the waves, surfboard under his arm.

Danny and Steve stood there for a few minutes, watching Eric paddle out a distance, waiting for a good wave. They watched him catch one, and maneuver it beautifully back to shore, where he proceeded to go out again. Both men were secretly hoping that this guy would wipe out epically. But it didn't happen, so they walked dejectedly back to the Camaro. This time, Steve let Danny drive, and they made their way back to Five-0 headquarters where Kono and Chin awaited them.

"What did you think of that guy?" Steve said, finally breaking the silence.

"I don't like him." Danny answered simply.

"Me neither." Steve replied.

"He just seems like a clueless blondie. How are you not aware of what's going on in your own business? It's not like it's the size of Walmart or something. If you ask me, he's the suckiest business owner I've ever seen. Too bad his father didn't have other sons to pass the family legacy on to."

"There's something about him that's not right." Steve added on.

"What, is that your SEAL spidey-senses telling you that?" Danny asked.

"Maybe." He didn't want to tell Danny that he was interested in his best friend, whether it be just a weird interest or whether it be a romantic interest.

Kono and Chin were waiting patiently in the Five-0 offices, waiting to hear an update on what went down with the CEO of Oahu Shipping Company. Kono had been looking at this Eric Peterson guy's picture for about forty-five minutes now (she had pulled up his basic information and education information and the like for future reference), and she badly wished that she had gotten to go with Steve and Danny. The guy was wicked hot AND he surfed? Sign Kono up for the next interview!

When Steve and Danny walked in a few minutes later, Chin wondered if something had gone wrong during their interview. They both looked like a hair had gotten across their asses, and that something had irked them greatly. Chin decided to stay clear of that subject, just in case it got him burned.

Both cousins listened carefully as the two other men replayed the scene with Eric Peterson. Chin and Kono had to admit that the guy seemed very flighty; not really knowing what was going on under his nose? What kind of businessman was this guy?

"What do you know about this guys background?" Steve asked Kono, who was the one that had done the research.

"Eric Peterson." She said, running her fingers along the touch screens and putting the information up on one of the other screens. "Aged 31. He was born and raised here on Oahu, and eventually went to Harvard Business School for college, where he graduated second in his class." This brought scoffs from all parties present. A Harvard man who didn't know what he was doing. Big shocker. "He returned after college and went to work as his father's vice president of operations before his father finally stepped down as CEO, and passed the mantle to his son. That was about two and a half years ago. No criminal record or anything. Not even a speeding ticket. He donates to tons of different charities throughout Hawaii, and even sponsors a "little" at Big Brothers and Big Sisters."

Steve legitimately wanted to punch something after taking in this information. The guy was a practically perfect human being. He was smart (supposedly), way charitable, and even a strict law abider. This guy was squeaky clean, but why did he get the feeling that there was something hiding, just below the surface, but was still too elusive to discover. Either way, he still didn't want this guy hanging around Penny, and he knew that he was going to have to do something about it. What it was he was going to do, he had no idea yet.

Standing next to Steve, Danny had much the same thoughts. On the outside, this guy seemed like the perfect man for Pen, but Danny knew from past experiences, guys like this did not end well with Pen. She gets too attached, and then it eventually becomes clear that they do not share the same feelings as her. And then, Danny was left to pick up the pieces of her mangled heart. Something had to be done about this, but he wasn't sure what he was going to do. She was a grown woman, and in theory she should be able to date whomever she wanted, but not this time. Definitely not on Danny's watch.

"Have we heard anything back yet on the dagger?" Steve asked the room.

"Nothing yet." Chin sighed. "The lab tech that deals with fingerprinting is off for the weekend. We won't hear back about anything until Monday or Tuesday probably."

"Again, we're back to a big pile of nothing." Steve said, frustrated.

"It's not your fault boss." Kono spoke up to try and calm him down. "It was a clean kill. It's not that uncommon. Coupled with the fact that he was a floater, and that God knows how many people had already trampled through our primary crime scene, it was a miracle that we even found blood stains or that open container."

"Yeah boss," Chin threw in. "Unfortunately, cold cases are not that uncommon."

Steve knew that his teammates were just trying to cheer him up, but it really wasn't working. He had made a promise to a family that he would track down the killer of their husband and father. He always kept his promises; that was one definite good thing about him, and he wasn't about to start breaking them now. They _were_ going to get a break in the case. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

"Eww, he feels slimy!" Grace giggled as she and Pen were gathered around a large touch tank at the Waikiki Aquarium. Pen smiled at her goddaughter's delight, and picked up a starfish that felt spiky. Just then, her phone began vibrating in her jeans pocket. She cursed under her breath and wiped her hand off on the leg of her pants.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. My little girl behaving herself?" Danny asked from the other end of the phone.

"No, she's been a horribly behaved little brat and I had to lock her in a closet." Pen said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, whatever it takes for a little discipline." Danny joked. "Where are you guys?"

"We're at the Waikiki Aquarium. Grace is about to go check out the shark tank."

"What?"

"They're little sharks, Danny. They're not Jaws." Pen laughed again. Danny let out a sigh, and then Pen remembered. Danny had told her about an incident with Steve, a suspect, and a shark cage. Pen had actually thought that was a funny story.

"Aunt Pen I want to pet the sharks now!" Grace said, after scoping out a hermit crab that had folded itself back into its shell.

"Alright honey, go ahead, I'm watching." Pen replied.

"You going to be there for awhile?" Danny asked. Pen watched Grace step up to the shark tank and stand on a stool to be able to reach in. One of the aquarium attendants began telling her about the species of the shark, and how to touch them with two fingers, and where she should touch them.

"Yeah, we'll be here awhile. Grace is just getting started." Danny chuckled.

"Alright, we'll be there in five."

"Ok." Then Pen paused. "Wait. We?"

"Yeah, Steve's coming too." Pen rolled her eyes again. Why in the hell was he tagging along?

"See you in a few then."

"See ya." And then Danny hung up and Pen made her way over to the shark tank where Grace was having a total blast.

"Aunt Pen, look at this one!" Grace exclaimed, motioning to the shark that looked very pleased he was being petted. Pen laughed because it looked like a dog; excited to be played with. "You should pet one too!" Pen thought, what the hell?, and stroked the little guy near his dorsal fin. His tail fin was wagging a mile a minute.

A couple minutes later, Danny and Steve showed up, wearing their wristbands signifying that they had paid their entry fee. Grace was currently enthralled at a huge tank with large and colorful fish swimming around in it.

"Hey," Pen greeted. "How did work go?"

"Fine." Danny said, but Pen knew something was clearly bothering him. She had known him so long she could read him like a book.

"Steve." Pen greeted him briskly. He shot her a grin.

"Good to see you again, Penny." Pen could feel her hands clenching. There he went again calling her "Penny." And there went her heart again with that annoying flutter. She wasn't sure at whom or what she was angrier. Danny went up and knelt behind Grace.

"You like the fish?" He asked her. She turned around with a huge, toothy grin and gave him a big hug.

"Daddy! I missed you!"

"I missed you too baby. But now I'm all yours for the rest of the day. What do you want to do?"

Grace looked over at Pen with a guilty look on her face. Pen laughed.

"Grace, don't worry about me! You have fun with your dad, we'll hang out another time!" Grace nodded with a smile, and then she spotted Steve.

"Steve!" She greeted, hurling herself at the ex-SEAL, only able to reach high enough to envelope his hips in a hug.

"Hey there Grace." He greeted with a smile, kneeling down. "Did you enjoy the aquarium?"

"It was awesome. I wanna come back and pet the sharks again!" Steve chuckled.

"Well, maybe we can come back again huh? I used to come here all the time as a kid. My mom would bring my sister and I here. We'd have a blast."

"That must've been so cool! Would you come with us next time Steve?" Steve couldn't help but smile at her.

"Of course!"

"Good." Grace said, satisfied. Then she turned to give Pen a huge hug.

"Thanks for spending time with me, Aunt Pen. Are you sure you'll be ok for the rest of the day?" Pen grinned.

"Of course I'll be fine, Grace. Don't you worry. You have fun with your dad." Grace planted a little kiss on Pen's cheek and bounced back over to grab her dad's hand. Then, she got this look on her face, like she had thought of something brilliant.

"Steve." She began.

"Yes, Grace?" He asked.

"Will you take care of my Aunt Pen for the rest of the day? I don't want her to be lonely." Pen choked. Yeah, she choked on her own spit. Danny had a deer in headlights look on his face, like he couldn't believe that had just come out of his daughter's mouth. Out of the mouths of babes and all that shit.

"Gra—" Pen began, about to tell Grace that it was _really_ unnecessary, but Steve interrupted her.

"Grace, I would be happy too." Danny's head jerked up in shock, as did Pen's. Steve just had this shit eating grin on his face. Pen vaguely wondered what this interaction must look like to an outside observer. Two out of four faces in this group must be gaping like the fishes in the tanks that surrounded them.

"Thank you Steve! Now I feel better about leaving Aunt Pen alone. Are you ready to go now, Danno?"

"Um… yes, sure sweetie. We can go now." He shot Pen an apologetic look and bade goodbye to her and Steve. Then he allowed Grace to pull him by the hand, and out of the aquarium.

Pen stood still in shock for a good minute and a half. Steve stood about three feet away from her, waiting for her to say something. Once Pen had finally gotten a hold of herself, she hiked up the strap of her purse further onto her shoulder, and started walking. She brushed past Steve walking so quickly, that she could've given those Olympic speed walkers a run for their money (no pun intended).

"Hey, where are you going?" Steve asked as he finally caught up with her as she headed back in the direction of downtown.

"I'm going home." She stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Alright, I'll come with you." He said, matching Pen's stride. Pen stopped dead.

"Like Hell you are!" She exclaimed.

"Look, Grace gave me an order, and I follow orders. I was in the Navy for quite a while you know." Pen scoffed.

"Really, it's fine. You can leave me alone. I like being alone. In fact, I _love_ being alone, especially because that means that I don't have to be around _you._"

"That's just… harsh." Steve replied. "What have I done to you? We haven't even known each other twenty-four hours yet."

Pen suddenly felt like a dick. This was very true. She only knew what Danny told her about Steve, which was always something bad. She didn't even give Steve the benefit of the doubt, she just instantly decided to dislike him, and it had clouded her reaction to him since. Pen had never been a person quick to judge someone, and she shouldn't start now. Plus, this extremely sexy, extremely tall (well, at least to her), ex-SEAL, Naval reserve officer, wanted to spend the rest of the day with her, as per her goddaughter's request. He honestly didn't have to. He could've just laughed it off as a cutesy thing from a little girl, but he actually wanted to do something with her. Pen felt very self-conscious at this thought. Why would he want to spend time with her? He probably had some beautiful, super model or something, waiting for him at home.

"Alright." She said.

"'Alright' what?"

"What do you want to do?"

Steve grinned.

* * *

Pen wanted to know how he knew. Maybe he had been talking to Danny or something, but she wanted to know how he knew to bring her here. He walked calmly beside her through the throng of tourists. Despite the fact that there were a good number of people here, it was very quiet and reverent almost, which made Pen tear up a little.

Admission was free, which Pen thanked her stars because she didn't want that awkward bit of who was going to pay. They had sat and watched the twenty-three minute documentary, and Pen was _well _aware of the fact that he was sitting so close to her, that his thighs were touching hers. You know that whole cliché of a "burning touch?" Well, she felt it. When the movie was done, they filed outside and onto the dock to take the boat out to the _USS Arizona_. Yeah, he had taken her to Pearl Harbor. The very place that she had confessed to Eric Peterson that she had yet to go since she had gotten there _months _before.

"When we get out there—"

"Yeah, I know. We can't talk at all." Pen said. She knew. She was an amateur World War II buff after all. Even though she didn't like the Pacific stuff that much, she had to recognize that Pearl Harbor was the reason the United States had gotten into the war.

The closer the boat got to the bridge memorial, the more conversations started to die down. The closer Pen got to the memorial, the more a heavy weight was pressing down on her. She always felt this way when she went to memorials, especially war memorials. She recognized the intensity and gravity of what they memorialized, and she'd never admit to anyone but she definitely got choked up.

She'd also never willingly admit to anyone, unless she was being tortured, how much this meant to her, for Steve to be bringing her out here. She was actually… touched?... that he brought her here. In her weird academia head, this was her idea of a perfect date. Whoa. Date? Where did _that_ idea come from? No, noooo way!

The boat docked at the little platform, and everyone quietly and slowly disembarked. The entire bridge over the sunken battleship was quiet, as quiet as the military gravesite, which this place was. Pen and Steve walked along the bridge, and eventually stop at one of the railings to look over into the harbor. Below them was the ship, and Pen could see the faint brown in the water of the oil that it still leaked. Steve leaned on the railing beside her, and gazed out over the water. Only he wasn't really looking down at the ship, but at the distant horizon. Maybe he had been here one too many times as a kid, or maybe he was envisioning the Japanese attack planes swooping in. Whatever it was, she had to stop looking at his face, right now. Right now. Right now. Right no—oh damn, he spotted her looking at him. He smiled at her, and motioned for her to continue on down the bridge.

Eventually, they made it to the part of the bridge that was entirely closed off, and housed the list of casualties during the attacks at Pearl. Pen skimmed over the list, and was delighted to see two people with the same last name as her mother's maiden name: Gosselin. She noticed there were no Harrisons though, but kept moving on down the alphabet. There was one name that she immediately focused on though, and whipped her head around to Steve with a quizzical look. He just shrugged his shoulders, and gave her a look that said he would tell her later. For there, on the wall, was a Stephen McGarrett. Like the one standing beside her. Too close beside her.

They stayed a little while longer, and then made their way back to the boat and back to shore. After taking a quick tour around the museum they had, Steve and Pen walked back to his blue Chevrolet pickup truck.

"So, was that your grandfather on that wall?" Pen finally asked, the curiosity getting to her.

"As a matter of fact, yes that is my grandfather."

"You were named after him then? And decided to follow in his footsteps and join the Navy?" She asked.

"Yes. My dad always talked about him, and I realized I wanted to be just like him. I originally wanted to be a cop like my father, but he talked me out of it. Told me that I should do something better. I couldn't ever imagine what would be better than being a cop." He was leaning on the hood of his truck and looking across it at her.

"Danny told me about your father. I am very sorry for your loss." Pen said, gravely.

"Thanks." He said, glancing down at the hood.

"He must have been, and still must be very proud of you, Steve." Pen spoke again. "You went to Annapolis. You're a ranking officer in the Navy, and you were in the SEALs. That's an impressive resume. Not to mention all that you've accomplished since you've been back to Hawaii and started heading up the Governor's task force."

Steve looked back up at her, and that cheeky grin from the first day she met him came back to his face.

"Did you just give me a compliment?" Pen flushed, and it was her turn to look anywhere but at him.

"Maybe." She said sheepishly. He smiled.

"Come on, get in the truck. I know a great place for dinner."

"Who says I want to get dinner with you?" She asked him, once she had climbed up and seat belted herself in.

"Well, you're not really getting home without me. Unless you want to walk back." Steve mock threatened.

"Are you holding me hostage then?"

"Maybe." He replied, and then turned over the engine of the truck.

**A/N: Here's another update for you guys out there reading. Thanks again to all those that have reviewed. They really do mean a lot to me. Hopefully I can get working on the next chapter at some point in a few minutes, if not, I'll do so when I wake up (it's 12:35a.m. here). We're supposed to get up to 5 inches of snow, so I may be stuck in my apartment and therefore have plenty of time to write! Weirdly enough, as I was driving around earlier doing some Christmas shopping, I had another idea for a character/plot point. I hope it'll be an interesting read once she shows up. And yes, I just said "she" on purpose, haha. **


	6. Chapter 6: Sounds Like a Plan

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Six: Sounds Like a Plan**

**Disclaimer: I STILL own nothing to do with Hawaii Five-0. If I did, I would be **_**in**_** Hawaii, sitting on the beach, being fanned by Alex O'Loughlin and… never mind… wishful thinking. **

"Next time, I'll have to take you to see the _USS Missouri_. I think that you would really enjoy that." Steve said, as he raced down the highway back to Honolulu. Pen smiled to herself.

"How did you know to bring me to Pearl Harbor? Lucky guess?"

"I may have asked Danny…" Steve said, looking in front of him at the road with a slight sly smile on his face. Pen smiled again.

Steve had finally gotten off the highway and took the roads into the city. He maneuvered the streets easily, and eventually found a parallel parking space outside of a small Italian restaurant called Mama Sophia's. The smells pouring from the place made Pen's mouth water. She hadn't realized that she was as hungry as she was; she hadn't eaten since brunch earlier in the day.

"You like Italian, right?" Steve asked, coming around the truck to stand next to her.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"I may or may not have texted Danny at Pearl about your food preferences…" Steve said with the mischievous smile again. Pen couldn't believe that this guy was actually inquiring about things that she wanted. Pen felt… well… she didn't know what she felt. A guy had never really been _this_ considerate to her… ever.

"Good evening. Will it be just the two of you?" Asked the hostess at the door, all smiles and charm.

"Yes, just us." Steve replied, and he motioned Pen to go first in following the young woman to their table.

The ambiance was fantastic, in Pen's opinion. The lighting was dim and intimate, the décor was very Tuscan, complete with columns that acted as partitions. The tables were draped with white cloth coverings, the small bread plates already on the table were square, and the silverware was folded into red cloth napkins.

Pen nearly had a heart attack when she sat in her chair, and Steve was behind her, pushing her chair in.

"Thank you." Pen said, absolutely floored. He slid into his own chair across from her and just shot her a smile. The hostess handed them their menus and told them about the soup of the day and the wine selection, then informed them their waitress was Pam and that she would be with her shortly.

"Do you like wine?" Steve asked Pen, as he perused the selection.

"As a professor of Roman History, I feel it is my obligation to like wine. But I have to say, I'm not a big red wine nut, white does it for me. The Romans would be disappointed in me."

"Oh, totally disappointed I'm sure." He joked. "You want to get a bottle?"

"No, no it's cool."

"That's a yes then. What's your favorite?" Pen rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Steve, we don't have too."

"Oh come on. We're in an Italian restaurant. It's dinner. You've got to have wine with dinner." He coaxed. "Plus, I'm paying." Pen blanched.

"You're not paying for me."

"Uh, yeah I am. I'm the one that invited you out to dinner. Ergo, I'm paying."

This was awkward. There's no reason that she couldn't pay for her meal. This wasn't a date or anything.

"I think I should pay for my half."

"Again, no. I was taught that when a man and a woman dine together, the man should always pay. Call me old fashioned."

"Look, I admire old fashioned-ness, ok I actually love it, but at the same time… you don't know me that well, and I don't know you that well, and it's just… weird, for me, for you to pay for my dinner." Pen said.

"Are we really going to argue this? I'm going to pay… end of story." Steve said, a note of finality to his voice. Pen wondered if he had used that voice with his SEAL team.

"Fine." Pen grumbled.

"Besides," He spoke again, "I would like to get to know you better..."

Pen looked up from her menu to see that he was looking at her, in all seriousness. He wasn't kidding. He wasn't yanking her chain. He was being real. Pen wasn't used to men (besides Danny and family members) being real.

Pam, their waitress, sidled up to the table, and greeted them. After much hooplah between the two (again), they finally decided on a bottle of Moscato. Then, they ordered, with Steve letting her order first. Pam walked away from the table with a smile on her face. These two were a trip. She went to put their order in with the kitchen and then returned with the Moscato. The couple thanked her politely when she poured it in their wine glasses. She left the bottle on the table and left them alone.

"So, how do you know Danny?" Steve asked Pen, leaning back in his chair and taking a sip from his wine glass.

"It's kind of weird, I guess. We share a cousin, yet we're not related."

"Ok… meaning?"

"Meaning, my dad's sister, my aunt, married his mother's brother, and they had my cousin, which we share."

"Interesting. Did you see each other a lot as kids or something?"

"Every summer and major holiday I was at my aunt and uncle's house." Pen said. "They live in Maine, and they're house was always the gathering place for both sides of their families. We became really good friends earlier on. When he'd go back to New Jersey and I'd go back to Virginia, we'd write letters to each other. Then email became really mainstream, and we would exchange emails. He hates email though, but sees that it's a bit faster than letter writing." Pen laughed.

"That's why you're Grace's godmother then?" Steve asked.

"Yep! I became closer with Grace and Rachel and Danny when I went to Columbia for my doctorate. They weren't far in New Jersey, so I'd go and visit whenever I could. It was awful when they got a divorce, but for some reason I could tell that it was coming. I really hadn't wanted it too, but it did. Then, while I was teaching back in Virginia at William and Mary, I got the phone call that Rachel had remarried and was taking Grace with her to Hawaii.

"I was so pissed. I couldn't believe how callous she was being to Danny. That kid is his life. He loves her so much. He immediately tried for a job at Honolulu P.D. And then, the biggest fluke in my life happened. I got offered a job at Hawaii Pacific. I thought it was an act of God, we Catholics really believe in those, so I took it immediately. I thought that if for whatever reason Danny hadn't been able to get a job down here, then at least someone would be close to Grace. But about a month after I was here, he got the job. And here we are."

"And how are you liking it?" He asked. Pen shrugged.

"I've lived on the East Coast all of my life, yet I've never really been a huge beach fan. Plus, the heat really gets to me sometimes. I am a big fan of cold weather. But other than that, it's absolutely beautiful here. Has your family always been in Hawaii?"

"Ever since my grandfather was stationed here. At one point, my dad thought about moving back to the mainland, but my grandmother really wanted to stay here. He didn't want to leave her, so he stayed. Became a cop. Married my mom and had my sister and I. I had never left the island until I got into Annapolis. Talk about a culture shock. And a weather shock. I had never seen snow except on TV." Pen laughed. "You know, my SEAL team spent some time in Virginia, at Little Creek. You know it?"

"Are you kidding?" Pen said excitedly. "I grew up in Yorktown. We had the Naval Weapon Station right there."

"I spent some leave time in Yorktown." Steve replied. "It's not far from Virginia Beach or the Norfolk Naval Base." Pen smiled.

"Not at all. I grew up around you Navy boys. My mother got remarried to one."

"To think that we were that close to each other, and we didn't even know it."

"It is a small world." Pen agreed.

"Random question." Steve started, and Pen laughed.

"Oh boy, go ahead, I guess." He laughed too.

"No, I swear it's nothing bad. When I say random, I really mean random: what is your favorite color?"

"Green. Definitely. You?"

"Blue."

"That's a big shock." Pen chuckled.

"What's wrong with blue?"

"Not a thing."

Their meals came, and they dug in, silence hanging in the air for a minute or two.

"I have a random question for you this time." Pen said, finally breaking the silence. Steve sucked in his spaghetti and then wiped his mouth when sauce splattered everywhere. He looked a little embarrassed for second. Pen just laughed at him.

"Go ahead." He said, once he had finished chewing.

"What was your favorite subject in school?"

"Hmm…" Steve pondered. "I would have to say History."

"Really?"

"Of course, where else was I going to learn about war and battles and blood shed?" Pen laughed. And the rest of dinner consisted of the two taking turns and asking random questions. Pen could not remember the last time she had laughed so hard. Especially when he asked her randomly whether she liked boxer or briefs.

"Um… you're asking _me_?"

"Yeah!"

"You do know that I don't wear either."

"Uh, I figured as much, but on a guy, do you like boxers or briefs?"

Pen couldn't believe that he was asking her this question. It was definitely forward and definitely bold. She could feel her face flush.

"Neither. Boxer briefs."

"Funny. That's what I prefer." That cheeky smile was back. Pen just rolled her eyes and had the urge to throw a roll at him.

A little while later, Steve opened the passenger door to his truck for her, and to Pen's surprise, gave her his hand to help her up onto the seat. Funny how his larger one seemed to envelope hers perfectly. Pen swallowed when he continued to hold on to her hand long after he had helped her into the truck. He was gazing at her this unreadable look. Pen had never wanted to read minds so badly in her life.

"Do I have something on my face?" She asked him. That seemed to pull him out of his stupor, and he let go of her hand and smiled at her.

"No, not at all." He shut the door and jogged around the front end to take his own seat behind the steering wheel.

Pen instructed him on where to go to get back to her apartment. The street was quiet when he turned down it, and lights were on in Mrs. Smith's apartment downstairs, the faint glow of the TV could be seen through the downstairs window.

Steve, yet again, opened the car door for her and, yet again, offered his hand to help her down. His hand was warm, and the skin there was calloused from years of God only knew what kind of special operations he had been on. All Pen knew was that she didn't think she could take anymore of this touching. It was making her head feel fuzzy and she didn't like that feeling at all. He walked her to the front door, as an old fashioned gentleman would.

"So, what is your assessment of me now?" He asked her. Pen pulled her keys from her purse, and turned to face him. He was at least six foot, but that was still tall for Pen's 5'4" height. He was standing really close, so close that she could feel, faintly, his breath on her forehead.

"Um…" She croaked. "I think the jury's still out."

"Oh?" He asked, acting surprised. "Then, maybe we need another outing for you to make your final judgment?"

Holy shit. Was this really happening? She had just spent an afternoon and evening with a guy that she had just met. Danny's crazy, shoot first, ask questions later, partner. Danny's extremely gorgeous, rugged, military officer, partner. Who was asking to spend more time with her. Her!

"I guess I don't see why we can't have one more outing."

A huge grin spread across Steve's face. Like, a knee weakening grin.

"Excellent. So, you'll come over to my house tomorrow so I can cook for you, and we can swim. There's a piece of beach behind my dad's house, it's a great place to swim. The waves aren't too crazy."

Pen paled. She paled for a few reasons. One being, he was asking her to his house, which she realized that she would love to see where he lived. Two, he was going to cook for her; a guy had never cooked for _her_. Three, he was suggesting a swim. Pen liked swimming, don't get her wrong, but… that meant she had to wear a bathing suit. She _hated_ wearing bathing suits.

"Um…" Pen hesitated.

"You do have a bathing suit, right?"

"Of course I do." And she did, a simple, one-piece thing that was nothing like what most girls wore around here. Pen was very body conscious, it was one of her personal issues, and although she had lost weight over the years from when she was in high school and undergraduate, the self-consciousness had stuck with her.

"Alright then, why does your face look like I just asked you to swim with the sharks?" Steve said with a laugh. Pen gulped.

"I just… me and sun and beaches and bath—"

"I'm not taking no for an answer." He interrupted her. "I'll be here to pick you up at, say, 10:30ish." The flitting thought of how many crunches Pen could do between now and then streaked across her mind. She didn't have a legitimate excuse in mind to use to get out of this one.

"I suppose."

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow morning then." He shot her a pleased look. Pen sighed and turned to unlock the front door into her building.

"Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow morning." When the door clicked shut behind her, she leaned against it. Pen only moved when the sound of Steve's truck disappeared down the road.

Back up in her bedroom, she pulled out her bathing suit from the depths of her dresser. There's no way she could do this. Nope, none at all. That man probably looked like a god in his swimming trunks, but if she put herself beside him, especially in this suit, she would feel like a complete ugly duckling. It was definitely the most unsexy swimsuit ever. Green and plain. She wondered if she could claim sickness or something, but then remembered she didn't have his number. There really wasn't a feasible way out of this. She was fucked. And not in a good way.

* * *

Pen had set her alarm clock for 8 a.m. and it blared in her ear bright and early. She groaned, trying to recall the reason she had set the damn thing that early. Then she remembered. She bolted out of bed, did some stretches, ran in place for a few minutes, and did some jumping jacks. When she couldn't take much more of that, she collapsed to the floor and did some crunches. No matter how many she did, that slight pudginess that was still around her stomach would not disappear.

At 10:30 a.m. on the dot, Steve buzzed at the intercom.

"If you're not down in five minutes tops I'm coming up there to drag you out."

"10-4, Commander." Pen turned away from the intercom and looked frantically around her apartment like she was looking for an escape route… or an inter-dimensional portal that would take her away. No such luck. She looked down at herself again, sighing. She had put on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and her favorite black Chuck Taylors. In her large shoulder bag, she packed sunscreen, the ugly bathing suit, flip-flops, and a couple of other random items.

When Pen got downstairs, Steve was leaning against his truck; arms crossed, a pair of jeans hugging his powerful legs, a white t-shirt straining across his impeccable chest, and a navy blue over shirt. He also wore his usual desert combat boots. He smiled at her.

"Good morning, sunshine."

Pen blushed.

"Morning."

He assisted her up into the truck again, and he drove off down the street, talking a mile a minute about what he was going to make her for food, and how nice the water was by his house, and this and that. Pen wanted to know where he got the energy to be a Chatty Cathy this early in the morning. She hadn't even had coffee yet to wake her up, which was her usual morning routine.

A few minutes later, Steve pulled down a driveway and came to a stop in front of a one-car garage. Pen jumped down from the truck before he got the chance to help her out. It was sweet and all, but he didn't need to do it all the time. Pen looked up and took in his house. It was beautiful. Absolutely stunning and very picturesque. Sweeping rooftops, plenty of palm trees in the yard, cobblestone walkway to the front door, just absolutely beautiful. The inside definitely looked like a man cave though. Big screen TV, comfortable chair to watch said TV in, man-style decorating, the works.

"And this is the backyard." Steve said, leading her out a backdoor. There was a wall of windows overlooking the backyard and a small private beach. On the back porch was a table with an umbrella and chairs. Pen noticed a couple of tiki torches too; she'd have never pegged him for a man that had those.

"You have a very beautiful home." Pen commented when they both went back inside.

"Thanks. My dad gets all the credit actually. I still haven't fully fixed the bullet holes in some places. Sorry." Steve said sheepishly. Pen would've never noticed if he hadn't said anything, but now that he mentioned it… She had heard this one particular story about Steve's ex-SEAL friend who betrayed him.

"Well, you know, the bullet holes give it... character, I guess."

Steve laughed. "You want something to drink?"

"No, thank you, I'm good right now."

He nodded and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator for himself.

An unwelcome thought popped into Pen's head. What would her mother say if she could see her daughter, in some man's house that she had just recently met, all alone? This got Pen wondering what in the hell she was thinking in the first place agreeing to this? This was such a bad id—

"You ready for a swim? This would be the perfect time to go. The water temperature is perfect and it's not choppy out there." Steve asked her. Pen gulped. Full on gulped this time. The dreaded swimsuit was going to come out, and he mind still raced for a reason to not let it happen.

"Well—"

"The bathroom is the second door on the right, down that hallway. You can change into your suit there." Steve directed before disappearing upstairs to where she only imagined his room was. Pen cursed. There was no way she was getting out of this was she? Sighing, she slumped to the door he had indicated and shut the door behind her. Pen quickly stripped and stepped into the suit. She next applied ample amounts of sunscreen to her skin (she was pretty pale and burnt easily), then extracted the large shirt she had packed away and slipped it over her head. Finally, she slid into her flip-flops, and exited the bathroom.

She almost collapsed at the vision that she saw. Steve was coming down from upstairs, blue swim shorts on, no shirt to be seen anywhere, and a couple of towels in his hands. His tattoos were more visible now, as was his incredibly toned and defined chest (with a sprinkling of chest hair which she liked—not to much and not too little) and abdominal region. Pen legitimately felt like she may be drooling. He smiled widely at her.

"A towel for you." He said, handing over a green towel. This characteristic was not lost on her. Green. Her favorite color.

"You ready?" He spoke again. She just nodded, because she didn't think she'd be able to formulate a coherent sentence.

It really was a beautiful day outside. A nice breeze whipped through the island, and it wasn't unbearably hot out. Once down at the water, Steve shucked his towel to the sand, and looked at her expectantly.

"Ladies first."

Oh boy. It was now or never. Pen too shucked her towel to the side, kicked her flip-flops in that general direction, and shed the oversized shirt like pulling a band-aid off a wound. Once she was bearing all, she stood there shyly, arms crossed in front of her. But Steve, to Pen's instant surprise, did not even bat an eyelash. He just smiled and motioned to the water. For the first time in about thirty minutes Pen felt like she could breath. He didn't care. At least, not outwardly, which Pen would take. So, casting aside all the needless worrying she had been doing since last night, she smiled back, took off her glasses and set it on her towel, and then made her way to the water. Slowly, Pen waded into the surf, and suddenly Steve ran past her at full speed, hurling himself into the water. It felt absolutely wonderful! It wasn't cold at all, and it was a beautiful blue/green color.

Steve emerged from the depths a good distance out, and began frantically motioning for her to join him. What the hell? She hurled herself into the water, surfaced, and backstroked out to him. It was and had always been her favorite stroke from swim class.

"Refreshing, isn't it?" Steve asked her when she reached the spot he was treading water in.

"Completely." Pen grinned, still floating on her back, letting the water lap over her.

"It was actually out here when I first thought about eventually joining the SEALs." He commented. "I liked swimming and water so much, I thought, what the hell?"

"And you must be an excellent swimmer to be in the SEALs, right?" She asked.

"Oh yeah, swimming, diving, calisthenics, hand to hand, the works."

"I imagine that training could not have been fun at all."

Steve laughed. "Not at all. But the end result was definitely rewarding. Definitely worth all the blood, sweat, and tears."

"_You_ cried?"

"I did actually. From the pain. The Academy never prepared us for something like that."

Steve's badass factor just went up in Pen's book. Not to mention his sexy factor as well.

"Green suits you." Steve commented off handedly. Pen could feel her cheeks flush.

"Thanks… I guess."

She pulled herself upright and began treading water beside him. He was smiling at her again, just looking at her as he had done the night before when he helped her into his truck after dinner.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Pen suddenly found herself blurting out.

"I'm not sure." Steve said, floating a little closer to her. His voice hard dropped an octave and took on a very husky tone. Just when Pen thought she couldn't salivate more.

"Are you sure there's nothing on my face?"

Steve shook his head.

"Well then what is it?"

"There's just something…" He began but trailed off.

"What?" She coaxed. If he thought there was something wrong with her, she wanted to know now before she… what? Developed feelings for him? With that thought, she realized it was too late. She already felt something for him when he had brought her to Pearl Harbor, the one place in Hawaii she had desperately wanted to go but had never been too.

"There's something about you that has me so… intrigued by you. I can't figure out what it is."

Ok, she had never heard that one before. Was this a good thing… or a bad thing? Pen was about to make a comment, but apparently Steve hadn't finished.

"After I met you, I found myself wanting to see you again… desperately actually. The first question I asked Danny when we got back to our car was whether you had a boyfriend or not." He floated a little closer to her, and continued again.

"There's something that I'm feeling for you… something I've never really felt before. But I definitely want to figure it out. It would eat at me if I didn't." He added a smile into the last bit. Pen gulped. She had had two major, long-term boyfriends in her life, and neither of them had ever been this open with her. She always believed that's where the relationship had gone wrong, and here he was, they weren't even in a relationship and he was being frank.

"Ok." Pen said, and felt stupid. That's all she could say at a time like this?

"Ok?" He remarked, looking for more.

"I have to admit that you've been the most interesting person I've probably met in my entire life. I had a strange reaction to you. I am not usually one to judge a person as quickly as I did you, only based on what Danny had told me. And then, you took me to Pearl, and then to dinner, and you weren't at all what I had imagined you were."

He smiled, and Pen continued.

"But I guess my point is, is that I've never reacted to anyone the way I reacted to you when I first met you. And it's kind of cause for concern for me, because I've never been as rude to anyone as I was to you."

"I've gotta be honest." He interrupted. "I thought it was kind of hot. Like you were playing hard to get or something." Pen huffed and splashed him with water, which only made him laugh.

"Back to my point," Pen said with mock irritation. "I feel something for you as well whenever I'm around you. And I feel… safe. Like I'll never come to harm when I'm with you."

"Well alright then." Steve said, closing the distance between them. "So, we both feel something, and we want to figure out what it is. Sounds like a plan to me."

And with that said, Steve enveloped his arms around her waist, and brought his lips to hers.

**A/N: Sorry to end it here, lame I know, but it will continue on into the next update, I promise. I hope you all enjoyed this, and didn't think it too lame. I love writing romance, but sometimes I feel like I'm rushing it, or I'm making it plain… bad? But anyway, hope you liked it, and I will try and get up another update soon.**

**Again, thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my reviewers and people who add my story to their Alerts/Favorites etc. You guys keep me going and writing!**


	7. Chapter 7: Planus Interruptus?

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Seven: Planus Interruptus?**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own. But if I did, Alex O'Loughlin would be taking me out on a boat and… yeah, never mind. **

**A/N: Alright, I actually have to apologize for this chapter. I realize that it sucks, and it's taken me forever to try and write this and make it decent, but I just did not figure out a better way to segue into more plot points. I am disappointed in myself in this chapter, and you can be too, haha. Also, thanks to **_**rice117**_** for the swift boot in the ass to hurry up and get this written!**

Pen could not believe this was happening. Not at all. She was kissing a man she had known for about 48 hours, and damn did it feel fantastic. It was usually after a week or so of knowing each other and going on dates, that Pen had kissed her previous boyfriends. But here she was, in Hawaii, in the ocean, being kissed by this charming, sexy, but also a little scary and crazy, man. Maybe his craziness was rubbing off on her now. The minute he slanted his lips across hers, applying more pressure, she lost all conscious thought. All she felt was his arms around her, his slick body pressed against her, his breaths on her face, and his delicious lips moving on hers. Of course she had to kiss back!

Yeah, this was probably a little too fast and a tad too forward, Steve had vaguely thought before he had kissed Pen, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time, and she tasted so good. He deepened the kiss; reaching up to thread his hands into her wet hair, pulling her head back slightly so he could get a better angle. A little sound, maybe a groan, came out of Pen's throat, and Steve felt his pride swell. When she responded to his kiss, he only felt more elated.

With his lips moving over hers so gently, it just felt right, to the both of them. It felt comfortable and good. Pen was disappointed though when she realized that he had a better lung capacity than her (damn SEAL training) because she was losing oxygen and needed some badly. Reluctantly she pulled away, gasping for air.

"Sorry. I forgot about that whole breathing thing." Steve joked, caressing her left cheek with his thumb. Pen laughed.

"It's fine. Really."

He smiled and brought her close again, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. There was silence around them, only the sounds of the ocean filling the void. It was the most at peace Pen had felt in a really long time.

"You hungry?" Steve asked, his voice hushed and breathy. As if on cue, Pen felt her stomach rumble, but it was below the water and therefore couldn't be heard.

"Yeah I'm pretty hungry."

"Good." Steve replied, pulling away from Pen but not letting go of one of her hands. "Come on, I've got this great chicken recipe you to try. My mom used to make it."

Pen allowed herself to be dragged back to shore, a smile on her face. He grabbed her glasses for her and put them back on her face, giving her nose a small kiss. Pen giggled. She actually giggled. She was toast.

Steve then grabbed her towel and wrapped her in it, rubbing her arms to get some warmth going into them. It was a little chilly standing in the breeze coming off the water. He then proceeded to drag her back toward the house, but before going inside he took a hose and washed the sand from their feet. Steve couldn't resist shooting her with the hose once; she squealed in surprise.

"Not fair!"

He laughed and pulled her into the house; depositing her on a stool at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Steve didn't even bother putting any other clothes on, he just toweled himself off a bit and then got to work, pulling out pots and ingredients and such. This amused Pen and she started giggling again. God, she probably sounded like some simpering, annoying giggler.

"What?" He asked, turning back around to face her. She shook her head.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"You don't like my choice of cooking attire?" He asked incredulously.

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just… definitely different." Pen replied, trying really hard to mask a smile. Steve held up his finger in the universal sign of "wait a minute." He disappeared into a walk-in pantry, and returned a minute later. Pen started laughing almost hysterically. For he, Mr. Big Bad Task Force Leader, ex-SEAL, had put on an apron that said: "Kiss the Cook." She laughed so hard; she almost fell out of her chair. Steve threw up his hands in surrender.

"You don't like this either?"

"P-please t-tell me that's not yours." She asked through breathy laughs.

"Course not." He replied, feigning offense. "It was my father's. My sister had given it to him for Christmas one year when she was ten. I had to go buy it for her." Pen smiled. She really enjoyed hearing about him and his family life.

"I think you should definitely keep it on." Pen said, in all seriousness.

"I will!" And he returned to preparing their meal. Pen hopped down from the stool to grab her jeans and t-shirt. She had sufficiently dried off enough that she wanted to put them back on.

"I like your Chucks, by the way." Steve said when she came back into the kitchen. Coming up beside him, she peered around him to see his progress. The marinated chicken breasts he had pulled out of the refrigerator smelled fantastic, and he was frying something up in the pan to go with it.

"Thanks. I have several pairs in different colors, actually. I've worn them religiously since my undergraduate. I try to be a bit more professional now because of the doctorate and being a college professor and all." Pen replied.

"I have a pair of black high tops that I should make it a point to wear sometime."

"You mean you have something other than tactical boots?" Pen asked, faking surprise.

"I do!" Steve said, defensively. "I mean; I have my dress shoes to go with my dress uniform."

Pen laughed, and thought about what he must look like in his Navy dress uniform. She bet it was certainly a sight to behold. Understatement.

"And…" Steve continued. "It may be hard to believe, but as a kid I wore high tops all the time." To Pen, it actually wasn't hard to believe. She could just imagine a mini-Steve riding his bike up and down the street, Chucks on, jeans and a t-shirt, looking badass even then.

"Do you need help with anything?" Pen offered.

"I was going to add a salad to the meal, would you mind preparing that?"

"Not at all! I'd be happy too."

Steve set her up back at her stool, giving her all the essentials she needed.

While they prepared their meal, they conversed about everything, and nothing at all. The more Pen got to know Steve, the more layers she realized he had. He definitely went deeper than she first thought, with that gruff, task force leader exterior where he shoots first and asks questions later. They were interrupted though by the ringing of Pen's cell phone from her pocket. Glancing at the screen, she saw Danny's goofy picture that she had taken of him once without his knowledge (when he was napping, mouth hanging wide open… you had to have been there). Pen sighed. Steve motioned for her to go ahead and answer.

"Hello?"

"Why do I get the feeling you don't really want to talk to me right now?" Danny asked, catching the irritated tone she had answered in. Props to him for his awesome detecting skills.

"What makes you say that?"

"Usually you answer the phone all cheery and stuff. Something wrong?" Pen looked up at Steve, who had turned back to the stove. He still wore the apron and just his swim trunks. She could see the muscles in his back bunching up and rippling whenever he moved his arms, stirred, adjusted the pots, etcetera. Pen gulped. Danny could not know that she was here.

"Everything's fine!"

"Uh huh…" He paused, and Pen had a weird feeling she was found out, but then he continued. "Well, I was just calling to check on you. Making sure Captain America didn't run into a drive by shooting or something and got you caught in the middle."

Pen shook her head even though he couldn't see her.

"First of all, Captain America was the Army, and second, no, nothing like that happened."

Steve turned around, immediately knowing he was the subject of the conversation. Pen rolled her eyes to show her annoyance. Steve just chuckled and turned back to the stove. She guessed it was just par for the course for him to be the subject of Danny's conversations.

"Good, I don't have to kick his ass then. I was just calling to make sure you were okay. What are you doing?"

"Um… grading papers." Steve looked back at her in amusement, and she just grimaced.

"Damn, you grade a lot of papers. Why are you so awful to your students like that? Assigning all these papers and tests and stuff?"

Pen sighed in relief. He had bought it.

"Payback maybe? All the papers I had to write in my college career; have to make other people suffer like I did."

"Fair enough. Well, I'll leave you to your boring self, and I'll talk to you later. Beer tomorrow at the usual place?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See ya."

"Grading papers, huh?" Steve asked when Pen had put her phone back in her pocket. She grimaced again. She hated lying to Danny, but… there was a reason.

"I just wanted to make sure that you're pretty face stays in one piece for a little while longer." Pen replied.

"Why's that?"

"SEAL or no SEAL, Danny would kick your ass if he knew I was here. Like it's all your fault I'm here alone with you, and I'm not here by choice… yada, yada. He's… a little over protective."

"I buy that." Steve grinned. He reached up to untie the apron, throwing it over a vacant chair. He grabbed a spare t-shirt he had laying on the back of his couch in the living room, and to Pen's disappointment, put it back on. She had been enjoying the view _way _too much.

A few minutes later, their meal was laid out on the table outside on the back deck. Steve had put up the umbrella and placed a couple of candles on the table. It was early afternoon, but still an appropriate time for some wine (of which Steve had gotten a bottle of moscato for her). He popped the cork and poured the cool liquid into their wine glasses.

"Oh my God, this is fantastic." Pen said a couple of minutes later when she had gotten to cutting into her chicken breast.

"Thanks, my mom used to claim it was an old family recipe from God knows when, but it was always one dish that we _all_ could agree to like."

They ate the rest of their meal with some story sharing and idle chatter. Once they were done, Pen cleared the table and went in to start the clean up.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked her, having followed her in, wine glasses and bottle in hand.

"You cooked, therefore, I clean. It's a general rule. You got a problem with it?"

"Honestly, this time I don't. I hate clean up."

"You're in luck then, clean up is my specialty." Pen joked, and motioned for him to sit down at the breakfast bar this time.

"Sooo…" Steve began when Pen had wiped the last pot dry. "Would you like to stay and watch a movie or do I really need to get you back to grade papers?"

Pen laughed.

"I'm done with my paper grading, and would like nothing more than to watch a movie with you."

Steve grinned widely, and brought her into the living room.

"I apologize, my movie collection is kind of slim, don't have much time to build it up when you're on missions around the world…"

"I understand." Pen replied.

"Yeah, so, I have _Top Gun_, _Gladiator_, _Full Metal Jacket_, _The Evil Dead_, _A Clockwork Orange_, and _Ghostbusters._"

Pen owned all of these movies and many more. She was a movie fiend and had multiple tall bookshelves that held just her DVDs. Pen felt sorry for him because his own collection was so slim.

"_Ghostbusters_?" Pen suggested, when she realized he was waiting for her to choose. Steve nodded and loaded up the DVD player.

"Excellent choice."

They both settled on his couch, Pen's legs tucked under her and Steve's legs resting on the coffee table in front of them. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to his side, which made Pen's heart leap at the contact and closeness.

The next 105 minutes were probably the longest of Pen's life. Actually, no, she took that back. The length of her father's funeral when she was 18 and just starting college were the longest of her life. But this came pretty damn close. The fact that she couldn't focus on one of her favorite movies of all time was seriously saying something. The intimate nature of how they were sitting just made Pen distracted, and made it all she could think about. She realized that she absolutely loved Steve's laugh, and wished that he did it more often. But she realized a long time ago with Danny that there was a certain persona you had to maintain while on the job, and it was the mark of the truly skilled when they could switch on and off. Pen could tell that sometimes it was a little difficult for him, but she hoped that around her, he would feel right switching off.

A while later (when Pen reluctantly informed Steve she should probably go home and prepare a lesson plan for tomorrow's lecture), she found herself outside of her apartment.

The sun had begun to set, and its rays were casting streaks across the sky filled with pretty, puffy white clouds. A small breeze whipped through the street, making the air not feel so stuffy to Pen.

"Thank you for today." She said. "I had a lot of fun."

"I enjoyed spending time with you." Steve replied, taking one of her hands in his.

"I did too." Pen whispered. There was something that she had been wanting to tell him all afternoon, something she had been thinking about. She just couldn't manage to get the words out.

"There's something you want to tell me." Steve stated. Pen blanched. How did he know? Was he a damn mind reader too?

"I just…" Pen hesitated. She didn't want to sound callous or bitchy. "I just… I want to take things… slow—er."

"I'm sorry… I probably shouldn't have kissed you…"

"No, no, that was… that was… great. I didn't realize I had wanted it until you did it, but I just…" Pen trailed off again. She couldn't gather her thoughts and spew out what she wanted to as easily as she just could.

"Tell me what you want." Steve urged, running his thumb along the back of her hand.

"I just want to do… this… right." Pen finally blurted. "I don't want to rush things and then have them fail a couple of weeks down the road. I don't want…" She must sound like a complete moron with all the unfinished thoughts.

"You don't want a repeat of your past relationships." Steve filled in for her.

"Yeah." Pen replied, somewhat sheepishly. She really wanted whatever this was between her and Steve to work out, and she was completely ready to take that leap. Now, she was having second thoughts about it all. She wants to continue seeing the ex-SEAL, but she also wants it to work out.

Why is it that Pen is so hesitant about relationships? Well, because she's had a couple of bad ones. And yeah, who hasn't had a bad relationship, but Pen didn't handle them well. There was some cheating going on (definitely not on her part, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she had ever done it), and there had been some emotional abuse. Pen's self-confidence has never been rock solid, and it was these relationships that kind took it down a peg or two or ten.

Pen was also one of those girls in romantic comedies that you want to punch sometimes. It was the emotional baggage. Her parents had been divorced all her life, her older brother divorced, her grandmother's husband had left her with three kids to raise on her own, yada yada. Emotional baggage. Pen had no faith in marriage or relationships. Hence why hers probably didn't last very long, she doomed them from the start with her cynicism.

Not this time. She didn't want the self-fulfilling prophecy to come true this time. Which his why Pen really wanted it to be unhurried, to give her time to get to know him more, to give her time to get over herself and her own fears.

"I can live with that." Steve's voice brought Pen back to the present. "I respect it. And I apologize for being too forward."

"No, please, Steve you aren't. Really."

Pen really didn't think he was. She just needed to pump the breaks on this downward spiral, before it got out of control… before _she_ felt out of control.

"So, we take it slow. Maybe do things on neutral ground for a while? No more visits to my house, and don't let me in yours, strictly restaurants or wherever. Then when you feel more comfortable, we can progress."

Steve understood. He really did, and he was willing to be patient and take this thing as slow as she wanted. She was worth however long the wait may be. He had no idea where these feelings were coming from. He was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a Navy SEAL, in other words, he didn't do things without getting facts straight, strategic planning, and choosing the proper weapon. But with this woman, he was ready to go in guns blazing, collateral damage be damned (much like Danny saw him now). He wanted her; wanted to be with her, and he would wait until she was ready.

"Thank you, Steve." Pen said. He dropped her hand, leaned forward, and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Can I bring you some lunch tomorrow?" He asked her.

"How about I get us some lunch this time. No arguing!" She said. She added the last bit when she saw Steve open his mouth to argue. He sighed and nodded in acceptance.

"I'll see you tomorrow then. I'll text you when I'm on my way." Steve said, as he back down the steps, towards his truck.

"Sounds great. See you tomorrow."

He grinned widely at her, hopped into his truck, and zoomed off down the road. Pen sighed and hiked her bag up on to her shoulder, shouldering her way into her apartment building. The television set in Mrs. Smith's abode loudly announced the early evening news, as Pen climbed the steps to her front door.

* * *

Steve was up by 0400 the next morning, taking his new traditional run up and down the stretch of beach behind his house. Once he had finished a decent run, he returned to his house and showered, dressed, and made his way into work. It was 0600 now, the only one there, and would remain so for the next two hours.

He decided to take this time to refresh his memory on everything involving the Morris case. Roman antiquities, clueless business owner, murdered security guard… no major leads, and no fingerprints to point them in the right direction. Steve hoped, yet again, that the dagger would yield _something_, _anything_.

Just then, his desk phone rang. After a brief conversation with a dispatcher, Steve was up, gun strapped to his hip, and badge in place. Another dead body had been found. On the way to the address given to him, he called his team.

* * *

Danny had been on his first cup of coffee when he got the call. Steve wasn't sure who the victim was yet, but shocker of all shockers, it was at Oahu Shipping Company. This time though, the body was on scene, and not in the ocean.

"Hey Detective Williams." Greeted Detective Isabelle St. John, as Danny ducked under the crime scene tape. He grinned widely at the female detective. He had had a bit of a crush on her since he had gotten to Hawaii over six months ago. She was gorgeous. Great body, trim and fit, long blonde hair and doe brown eyes. She had a cute button nose and luscious plump lips. Danny couldn't count how many fantasies he had had about her. Not to mention she was a badass cop who did her job extremely well.

"Detective St. John." He greeted, trying to play it cool. She shot him a smile and Danny nearly keeled over.

"Your boss hasn't showed up yet. But go on in. The body is in the main office."

"Thanks, Detective." He said, before beating feet towards the main office, a place he was all too familiar with. HPD uniforms, detectives and forensics crews were all over the place when he entered the building, to see that Chin and Kono were here.

"Hey Danny." Kono greeted with a smile.

"How did we beat Mr. SEAL here?" Danny asked.

"Dunno, brah." Chin said. "But take a look at who it is."

Danny came around the desk of the secretary to find good ole Bud, shift supervisor, dead as a doornail, an object protruding from his gut.

* * *

Oahu Shipping Company. Again. This probably meant he would have to talk to that Eric Peterson guy… again. He was not looking forward to that.

An attractive female detective stood guard at the crime scene tape as Steve walked towards the docks. She looked up, and sent him this absolutely glowing smile that reached her eyes.

"We've all been waiting for you, sir. I'm Detective Isabelle St. John." She said, holding out her hand. He grasped it and shook it briefly.

"Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. Nice to meet you, Detective."

"Follow me, Commander, and I'll fill you in on the way."

He motioned with a sweeping gesture that he would follow behind her. She took off down the pier, and Steve paid close attention while she talked.

"The body was found at about 5 o'clock this morning when the daylight shift started coming in. The secretary, Lynn Hahn, found the vic when she was opening up shop. No sign of forced entry on the door. CSIs came in and are processing the scene now."

Isabelle came to a stop by the open door to the main office and motioned for him to go in.

"I'm going to go and finish taking statements. I know your team's got it from here." She said, that brilliant smile on her face again. He nodded and went inside.

Whoa, it was Bud.

"So, I'm thinking cause of death was like Morris." Danny said. Upon closer inspection, Steve noticed the object sticking out of Bud's abdomen. It looked like something old… again.

Two men came into the office with a black body bag, 'Coroner's Office' was proclaimed across their back in yellow lettering. Steve nodded at them when they asked to extract the body. It needed to get to Max as quickly as possible so they could determine what the weapon of choice was this time. Steve had a feeling another visit to Penny was in order, and he was a-okay with that.

**A/N 2: Again, I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, and for its suckiness. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up a little more promptly than this one. **

**Thanks to all my awesome reviewers. I really, really do appreciate it. I'm sick as a dog, and your awesome words make me feel better.**


	8. Chapter 8: Walk Like an Egyptian

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Eight: Walk Like an Egyptian**

**Disclaimer: Let me see… *****looks up, looks down, looks side to side***** …nope, still don't own Hawaii 5-0. If I did, Alex O'Loughlin would be feeding me chicken noodle soup and cuddling with me; making me feel better. ;) **

**A/N: A belated Happy Holidays to all my readers! Hope that everyone got what they wished for! **

Max was playing a rendition of "Blue Suede Shoes" on the piano when Danny and Steve stepped into his office later that day. When he finished, he stood, much as he had the first time they had ever met him, and stiffly walked from his office to the lab.

"The murder weapon is a sword. I am not sure of the origin of this one. I have had it sent to the forensics lab to be fingerprinted, but I took pictures so you could show them to your expert." He intoned, handing Danny an envelope of pictures. Danny took one of the glossy photographs out and held it up so he and Steve could look at it.

Neither of them had seen anything like it. It was hard to describe. The blade went straight, took an almost ninety-degree turn to the right, and then curved the rest of the way to the tip. It looked more like it should be used out in a wheat field then used as a deadly weapon.

"Looks like something from a movie I've seen before." Danny said, and it did look vaguely familiar.

"Thanks very much, Max. We'll be in touch." Steve said.

"I hope that this case can be resolved quickly." Max commented.

"You and I both." Steve replied, and then he and Danny were out the doors and heading to the car.

"I've got to call Pen and tell her we're on our way again." Danny said, pulling out his cell phone. Steve would've loved to volunteer to call her right now, just to hear her voice, but he knew that, in theory, he shouldn't really have her phone number. What Danny doesn't know won't hurt him though.

* * *

Pen had been so engrossed in some research she was doing, that she nearly fell out of her chair when her iPhone rang.

"Christ!" She exclaimed, hand over her heart, trying to still it. She pulled it out of her coat pocket and looked to see that it was Danny.

"I hope you know that you just shaved ten years off my life!"

"Good morning to you too. I'm doing well, thanks." Danny said sarcastically in response to her answer.

"You scared the bejeezus out of me… calling me and all."

"My bad."

Pen just shook her head, giving the center of her chest a little thump to get her heart going again. She had just been thinking about Steve… ok… that was a lie… she had been thinking about Steve all morning since she had woken up. The past hour she had been trying to think of a good place for them to go to lunch. Unfortunately though, she had a feeling (after this conversation) that she wasn't going to be seeing him for lunch today.

"You busy? Steve and I are on our way. We had another dead body with another antique used as a murder weapon. We need an ID on what exactly it is."

"Um… come on up. I'm in my office for the next couple of hours. I don't have a class until 3:15."

"Great, we'll be there in a few." They hung up, and Pen's heart leapt. She was going to see Steve! God, was she crazy to be this excited?

She then did a couple of uncharacteristic things. She looked around her office to make sure that it looked clean. She had too much shit, so it was never going to be clean or uncluttered. Then, she took out a mirror that she kept in a drawer in her desk, and looked at herself. Make up looked good, lipstick wasn't smeared or stuck on her teeth. Come to think of it, she never wore lipstick, she couldn't really think of _why_ she had put it on that morning. Actually, take that back, she knew why: Steve.

A few minutes later, a brisk knock came at the door, and she bid them enter. It was Danny and Steve. She stood to greet them, giving Danny a hug, and a handshake to Steve. Unbeknownst to Danny though, Steve covertly caressed her palm with his forefinger. A shiver ran up her spin, and it was all she could do to not show it. She secretly slipped him a smile, and he shot her one back. Pen motioned for them both to sit down, and she took a seat in her chair again.

"So, another dead body, and another priceless piece of antiquity. What was the flavor of choice this time?" Pen asked. Danny handed the envelope of pictures over to her. There were about five all together, from different angles, and she laid them all out on her desk.

"Holy… shit…" She breathed in awe, her now normal reaction upon seeing an artifact. "If this hadn't have killed someone, it would be one of the most awesome swords in the world, in my opinion anyway."

"What is it?" Danny asked.

"It's a sicklesword! Also called a _khopesh_. Used around the 18th Dynasty, which is about 1600 B.C., by the Egyptian pharaohs. It was probably an adaptation of a sword used by the neighbors of the Egyptians. This thing is in _incredible_ condition if this is what it looks like."

"That is what it looks like." Danny replied.

Pen thought that she was going to go off into a hopeless orgasm of geekdom. She wasn't originally an Egyptologist, but the country had always interested her enough that she took classes on it. She really wanted to see it, hold it, touch it.

"Could… could I possibly see it… you know… in person?" She stammered out. Danny rolled his eyes, and sat back in his chair (where he had previously been sitting forward, listening to Pen).

"You're geeking out again aren't you?" He asked.

Pen sparred a glance at Steve who only smiled at her with that cute smile of his. It made her feel like he thought she was cute.

"Yes, I am, and is it… is it possible?"

Danny sighed.

"I suppose we can arrange it after it's been dusted for prints and searched for any type of DNA."

Pen pumped her fist in triumph. Then remembered why they were there in the first place. After packing away the pictures back into the folder, she handed them back to Danny.

"Who was that in?"

"One of the shift supervisors at Oahu Shipping." Danny replied.

"Wow…" Pen whispered. Her heart went out to the victim and his family, if he had one.

"Thanks again for your time. We just wanted to verify that it was another antique and that it was legit."

"It's legit alright. Unfortunately." Pen replied.

"Back to the grinding board then." Steve said. He stood from his seat, and Danny followed suit.

"Thank you, again, Dr. Harrison, for consulting with us." Steve said, sending her a stealthy wink. She smiled at him.

"Please, Steve, you _can_ call me Pen, if you want."

"Can I call you Penny?" He asked, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Pen sighed, and looked to the Heavens for guidance. She had a feeling the Powers That Be were telling her that she was on her own.

"I suppose that would be alright, Vin Diesel."

He grinned wider, almost a smirk, and then looked confused.

"Vin Diesel?"

Danny snorted, then turned to his partner.

"You ever see _The Pacifier_? I thought maybe they might've shown you that movie in SEAL school or something."

"No, I think I might've missed this one." Steve said, still looking confused.

"It's a Disney kid flick. Vin Diesel plays this SEAL who has to babysit/protect some kids."

"That sounds nothing like me." Yep, still confused. "And why do _you _know about this movie?"

"Grace wanted to see it. She enjoyed it."

"This sounds nothing like me… at all." Steve reiterated.

Danny shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. It was supposed to be a funny reference, but I guess Pen and I are the only one's that get it. Just… don't worry about it."

Pen was trying really hard not to laugh as Danny pushed a still confused Steve out of her office, and then he popped his head back in.

"I'll see you for that beer later. If anything comes up, I'll let you know."

"No problem." Pen replied with a smile, and then he shut the door and was gone. She sighed. The encounter hadn't lasted long, but she certainly wished Steve was still there. Even if he was still confused by her comment. She wished that she could have talked to him a little bit more, but she knew that Danny assumed they weren't on any sort of congenial terms, again, hence the Vin Diesel comment.

A minute later her phone dinged, signaling she had a text message. She smiled when she saw it was from Steve.

_Well that was fun_. It said.

_It always is!_ Pen replied.

_Hey, I hate to do this to you, because I've been dying to see you all day, but I don't know if I'll be able to make lunch._

_Really, it's fine! You're working on an important case. There will be other lunches!_

_I would much rather be wining and dining you than chasing after some killer…_

This made Pen's smile even wider.

_I feel the same way. Keep me updated on your findings! If you need any other consulting, you know where to find me._

_Of course, milady. I'll talk to you later and we'll figure out a meal at some point._

_Sounds great!_

_Oh, and… we're going to have to watch this Vin Diesel movie sometime. I'm intrigued._

Pen laughed out loud.

_Of course!_

And that was the end of their conversation.

Pen hadn't realized until the subject of lunch came up again, how hungry she was. Her stomach growling signaled this. She glanced at the time. Plenty of time to get down to her usual café, eat lunch, and be back for class!

* * *

"Well hey there!" Greeted an all to familiar voice, while Pen was eating her lunch. She looked up and noticed that it was none other than Eric Peterson. Imagine that.

"Hey! Care to join me?" She asked. She vaguely took note that, during this encounter, she felt no heart flips or stomach flutters when she saw him. Strange. Did Steve have this much of an effect on her?

"That would be great. Thanks." He said, wide grin on his face. "So, you on your lunch break?"

"Yeah, I don't have a class until 3:15, so I'm taking a breather."

"Are you a student?"

Pen laughed.

"Oh God, no. I'm a professor of Classical History at Hawaii Pacific University."

"Wow, I would've never taken you for a professor. I always imagine some crotchety, old guy with a bow tie and huge glasses."

"Yes, I do get that comment all the time, actually."

He laughed. Then, he looked to appear as if in thought.

"So, as a professor of Classics, can you tell me about artifacts and the like?"

A small red flag went up in Pen's brain, but she didn't want to think anything of it.

"Yes, I suppose I can."

"Great! I was wondering… I just recently bought this statue from an antique's dealer on a trip to Rome, and I thought, maybe if you wouldn't mind… you could take a look at it?"

Pen had this feeling she was doing a lot of consulting lately. She was going to have to really brush up on her art history and her archeology. And maybe start charging to make some extra money?

"I suppose I could take a look for you."

"Excellent! I don't have any pictures of it or anything… would you be ok in coming to my house to check it out?"

Pen knew that she should say no. This was a strange man asking her to his house. How did she know whether he was a psychotic serial killer or a rapist or not? God, she should say no! But she had agreed to help him.

"You can, of course, have a chaperone with you. I know it's weird for a strange man to be asking you to his house."

And yet Pen had had no problems in going to Steve's house the day before. Funny how that shit worked out.

"Um… sure, I've got the perfect person. She's an art history professor who could back me up." Dr. Kathryn Murphy, the only female friend Pen had really made since she had gotten here, was actually a fellow graduate of Pen's undergraduate college, but the two had never crossed paths. They had graduated in the same year and everything! Kathryn's specialty was actually Renaissance art, but it was close enough to Classical art to pass.

"Sweet! I'll give you my number…" And here he pulled out a pen out of his suit pocket (again, Armani) and wrote his number down on a napkin. "…that way, when you both work out a time you can come, just text me or call me to let me know!"

Pen looked down at the number like it was something she was unsure of. But, she had volunteered, and she always kept her promises.

"I'll talk to her as soon as I get back to my office."

"Awesome. Well, I've got to go. I have to take care of some… business thi—" But he was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone ringing. "Please, forgive me, but I have to take this." Pen nodded her go ahead and he answered the phone cordially.

"This is Eric Peterson."

…

"Yes, hello, what can I do for you?"

…

"No, that won't be necessary. I'm free for the afternoon and will meet you."

…

"My office. Yes, it's in the Baxter Building on Sloan Street in downtown. I'll inform the guard at the door of your appointment."

…

"See you then. Goodbye." And he hung up the phone and replaced it into his suit pant pocket.

"I apologize for that. Something came up, and I really have to go now. But just let me know what you all decide and we'll set something up."

"Sounds good." Pen replied.

"Great, have a great rest of your day. See you later."

And with that he was gone. That phone call had made him nervous. A slight sheen of sweat had broken out on his forehead. Strange. Little did she know that he had been talking to one, Detective Danny Williams.

* * *

Danny had no idea either that his best friend had been sitting across from this complete moron. He knew that they were going to have to have another talk with this idiot when he pulled up to Oahu Shipping to find out Bud had been killed. Bleh.

"You get something set up with Mr. Harvard?" Steve asked, coming into the main room of Five-0.

"Yeah, we've got to be there in about forty-five minutes. Baxter building on Sloan Street in downtown. Apparently that's where his office is."

"Oh, that's great." Steve said sarcastically. Danny actually shared his sentiments this time.

"I'll meet you at the car in ten minutes? I'm going to go down to forensics and see if they've got anything." Steve spoke again. Danny nodded his head to show that he was actually paying attention, and then Steve left the room.

He nearly collided with a female body on his way down to the forensics unit.

"Oh gosh, sorry!" Detective Isabelle St. John said, straightening herself, and brushing off. "Wasn't looking where I was going at all."

"Yeah, sorry, I was miles away." Thinking about Pen. Steve thought.

"No biggie, really, Commander McGarrett." Isabelle said, that trademark, dazzling smile on her face.

"You can call me Steve." He said.

"Steve it is. You can call me Izzy then."

She was shooting him this look that actually made him feel uncomfortable. And Steve _never_ felt uncomfortable about anything. He also had a feeling she was flirting with him. He didn't really like that either… any other time he would've probably flirted back in that weird, sort of mysterious way he does, but… Pen was in his life now. Things had changed. Wow, things had changed?

"Where are you headed?" Izzy asked him, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Down to forensics. To check on the murder weapons."

"Ah, just came from there about the Egyptian one you had identified. They were able to pull some partials and are matching it through AVIS as we speak. You know how long that could take?" She said with a sigh. He nodded.

"Alright, well, I still need to check on the status of the weapon from my first murder."

"Of course! I'll leave you too it then." She said, the smile still in place. They brushed past each other, this time without collision, and Steve had almost made it to the stairs down to forensics, when Izzy's voice called him back.

"Steve, would you like to get a cup of coffee sometime?"

Oh boy, what did Steve say to that? No, he was already sort of dating someone else? What if it was just strictly a co-worked type thing though, and he assumed too much? Gah, he had no idea how to handle this. So, he just went with an elusive answer.

"I'm kind of in a hurry, but I'll get back to you on it." And then, before she could ask him anything else, he disappeared down the steps as quickly as he could go.

* * *

"Yo, boss man!" Greeted one of the forensic technicians, Dave Monroe. He reminded Steve of the Adam kid from _CSI:NY_: kind of geeky and a little awkward, but intelligent as hell.

"Hey Dave. I was just coming to see if you had anything for me."

"Unfortunately, I don't have anything for you yet. I did get a partial off of the dagger thing and the other sword thing. Still haven't gotten any matches in AVIS yet for either. But, that can take days to get a match. We're not like _CSI_ here. We don't get matches in seconds."

This was one time in life where Steve wished real life was like TV.

"Thanks, Dave. You've got my number the second you've got something?"

"Speed Dial Numero Uno, boss man."

Steve nodded and made his way up to the car where Danny was waiting for him. So much for a lucky break.

* * *

"Seriously, you didn't need to come all the way down here for me to talk to you." Pen said to Kathryn, as she stood in her office. She was packing up to leave for the day, after an awesome class lecture about a little Babylonian history (it was her Freshman World History class that she taught).

"Yeah, but I hadn't seen you in awhile. I just wanted to make sure you weren't a ghost or something." Dr. Kathryn Murphy replied, sitting in one of Kathryn's chairs and making herself comfortable. She was about an inch shorter than Pen, although today she was wearing heels and Pen had decided on Chucks. Kathryn was pretty. She had those weird gold/green eyes that people were really drawn too, and honey colored brown hair. She always looked stylish and well put together; wearing just enough make up to highlight her features, and always color coordinating with purses and accessories. Pen was jealous, but was happy that she had met Kathryn at a faculty function at the beginning of the school year.

"I know, I'm sorry. I don't have an excuse. It's not like I've done a lot of shit lately for me to not be able to pick up a phone or take an elevator ride."

"Psh, it's no big deal. Really. You just owe me some fast food or something."

Pen laughed.

"Deal! I've been dying to find a Wendy's and get a burger."

"I like the way you think, Pen."

"Anyway, this is going to sound awful, but I kind of have a favor to ask you."

"Not awful at all. What'd you need?"

Pen proceeded to explain to Kathryn the whole situation. From meeting Eric up to lunchtime that day, and his request to have a consultation on an object he had just bought.

"It's no problem at all. I'd love too. You'll know a tad more about that era than me, but I could probably back you up with something. Plus, even though this guy sounds like McHottie, I wouldn't want to go to his house alone either. Hello! Ted Bundy was supposedly attractive too! And look how that ended up for people!"

"Yes, thanks Kathryn." Pen said sarcastically. She just shrugged.

"Just saying. I'll make sure to bring my mace and taser."

And Pen knew she wasn't kidding one bit.

"Fair enough. When are you free?"

"Honey, have you looked at my life lately? I don't have one. Anytime, any day will do. Just name it, and most likely I'll be free."

"How about Wednesday, about this time, say 5 o'clock? I'll have to see if he'll be available first, but…"

"That would be great." Kathryn replied.

"Great. Well, I'm off… I'll be meeting up with Danny later for a beer if you want to join us? He's got to interview someone for a case he's working on which is why we're not meeting now." Pen asked her.

"Um… well, any other time I'd say I wouldn't want to intrude, but considering I have yet to meet this Danny person, I would love to go!"

"Sweet. I'll text you when I'm on my way there."

"Alrighty then." Kathryn said, hopping up out of the chair and grabbing her purse. "Later then!"

Pen rechecked her bag to make sure she had all the schoolwork she needed. It had been a decent Monday for a change, but she could've used a bit more of Steve.

**A/N 2: I would like to take time out, as I usually do, to thank my awesome reviewers! I thought I'd get this chapter out as a belated holidays present for people! Hope you enjoyed it, and I'll be working more on other chapters! **


	9. Chapter 9: Penny the Matchmaker

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Nine: Penny the Matchmaker**

**Disclaimer: *****Looks at invisible watch***** Nope. Don't own Hawaii 5-0. But if I did, Alex O'Loughlin would have been plowing out my drive way and the rest of the roads so I could've gotten the hell out of my house sooner than I did! **

**A/N: Anybody else think that Alex O'Loughlin would make an interesting Crocodile Dundee if they ever remade the original movie? I think of these things. Don't really know why.**

"Mr. Peterson will see you now." The secretary, a young, 20-something blonde said; Danny and Steve were grateful. Steve more so. If he had to be in the waiting room of the Oahu Shipping Company administrative office for another minute, he would probably go berserk. He didn't think he could take anymore of the zen-like music piping through the stereo system, or the trickling of the fountain that was probably supposed to be relaxing—not make someone want to go into a bloodthirsty rage.

The two men made their way through a set of heavy, double doors into Eric Peterson's office. There was surfing memorabilia all around, and other random movie posters and pictures. The décor really didn't match or anything, definitely done by a guy, and it didn't feel very "owner of a shipping company"-like.

"Good afternoon, detectives! Please, sit!" Eric Peterson, dressed in an Armani suit this time instead of board shorts, gestured to the comfortable armchairs in front of his desk. As soon as they had situated themselves (Steve actually would've preferred to stand, but didn't want to seem rude), Peterson sat back down onto his large, leather desk chair. He smoothed his tie out and looked back up at them.

"Is there anything I can get you gentleman to drink? Vitamin water? Regular water?"

"No, thank you, Mr. Peterson." Steve replied. Eric nodded.

"Alright then, what can I do for you today?"

"You are aware there was another death last night on your premises?" Steve asked. He decided to take point on the questioning this time. Danny had pulled out his notepad, and looked expectantly (and a little disgustedly) at the blonde man in front of them.

"Yes… Bud." Eric said gravely. "I was completely shocked to hear about it. We haven't even had a chance to hire a new security guard or talk with a security company about cameras. I feel… terrible."

He did look stressed. He also looked a little nervous. Steve noticed some sweat beading on his upper lip and on his forehead.

"Mr. Peterson, what were your whereabouts early this morning… about 3 in the morning?" Steve asked.

"I… I was sleeping." Eric replied, shrugging, like it was the most obvious place for him to be.

"Is there anyway you can confirm that?" Steve asked. He kind of liked this part. Making the man feel like he was a suspect. At the moment, there was really no motive for Eric Peterson to have killed Bud, but Steve needed to cover all of his angles.

"Uh… I don't have a wife or a girlfriend, if that's what you mean." For some reason, Danny stiffened up beside him. Steve wondered if he was thinking again about Pen being around this joker. "I do have a security camera at the front gate to my house if you want footage. I can't go on and off my property without going through the gate."

"Whatever you can give us would be great." Danny said.

"Mr. Peterson, is there anyone you can think of that may be committing these murders? Do you have any enemies or competition? Do you think Bud or William Morris had any enemies that may have wanted to do them harm?" Steve continued the questioning.

"No! Not at all, for any of those questions. I mean… like I said… my grandfather and father ran a laid back company. Shipping is pretty straightforward. You ship what your client wants, and if you can do that, then you're golden. We've never had any problems with stolen cargo or anything until the olives were taken. Bud was a good shift supervisor from what I can understand. He was fair, and a good superior. And, Mr. Morris, well, he wasn't working with the company long enough to make enemies… at this job anyway."

The guy was getting more jittery by the second, and Steve legitimately wanted to let out an evil, maniacal bark of laughter. The guy was an absolute wimp. It was a wonder the business was still afloat with him running it. Steve hoped beyond hope that this guy was better at dealing with and pulling in clients than he was with talking about the running of the company and employees. Steve supposed that's why men like him had people under him doing the real work.

"Do you think it's possible, Mr. Peterson, that the olives weren't the real cargo in that container?" Steve asked.

Eric looked completely taken aback by the question.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Steve hesitated. He didn't really know how to proceed with this whole smuggling bit. Especially if Mr. Harvard was involved in some way or another. Steve sort of doubted it though. The guy was a complete moron and had a squeaky clean record, he hesitated to think that Peterson would stoop low to get his hands dirty.

"You don't think a client of yours may be bringing contraband into the U.S. through your shipping company, do you?" Danny supplied.

You might as well have said you could prove the existence of Bigfoot, and you wouldn't have gotten a more shocked expression out of this guy.

"No, no way! Most of our clients are trusted friends of my father and grandfather and have been going through our company for years. We all know what they send in, and we all trust that they ship what they say. Occasionally we'll have an inspector come in, but he's never really been necessary."

Peterson had turned sheet white at the idea of these bad things happening under his nose. Again, Steve actually felt an intense buzz of glee shoot through him.

"You're sure?" Steve asked.

"Positive."

Steve and Danny were quiet for a minute or two. Mostly to keep Peterson on edge. And then Danny spoke again.

"That will be all for now Mr. Peterson. We may need to call you for permission to conduct a surveillance or anything of that sort."

"O—of course!" Eric stammered. "Whatever you guys need. Just let me know!"

Danny and Steve stood, feeling completely content with the state of things in the office. They bade their thanks, Danny gave Eric another business card just in case, and then they left. Danny had a beer calling his name. Steve… well Steve wished he had a woman waiting for him at home, specifically Pen, but for now he would have to deal with the image of a stammering, nervous Eric Peterson to get him through the rest of the day.

* * *

"He said he was on his way. He should be here soon." Pen said to Kathryn as the two women sat at the bar. Pen was nursing her usual Guinness, and Kathryn sipped at a Sex on the Beach. She had confessed she wasn't much of a beer drinker. Pen hadn't really been a huge beer drinker either… until Danny had given her a Guinness.

"Sorry I'm late, Pen, had to question this total—hello." Danny had finally made his appearance. And upon seeing Kathryn, he stopped midsentence. Kathryn had turned around to see the newcomer, and now both parties were looking at each other in the way they do in one of those mushy romantic comedy movies. Like the whole, imagining yourself running through a field of flowers towards the other, goofy smiles on their faces, the dramatic music in the background. Pen tried to hide her smile.

"Danny this is Kathryn Murphy. She's a fellow professor. Kathryn, this is Danny Williams, he's a detective."

Pen may as well have been invisible. Danny, not breaking eye contact, slid onto the barstool next to Kathryn.

"Nice to meet you." Kathryn said, this dopey smile gracing her face. She held out her hand to Danny.

"A pleasure to meet you." He replied, taking her hand. Instead of shaking it, he brought it too his lips and kissed Kathryn's knuckles. Pen burst out laughing that time. She had _never_ in her life seen Danny act like that. NEVER. Not even when he had met Rachel.

"Pen, where have you been hiding Kathryn all this time?" Danny asked, still not able to take his eyes from hers. Pen wanted to vomit. Legitimately.

"I was wondering the same thing earlier today." Kathryn said, shooting Pen a raised eyebrow. Yep, it was ALL Pen's fault.

"What could I get you to drink?" Danny asked, even though Kathryn clearly had one in front of her. But, Pen guessed one of the rules of this mating dance was, even though the girl may already have a drink; offer to get her another one. And if you're the girl, you have to accept, even though you haven't finished your first.

"A Sex on the Beach." Was the coy reply. Pen rolled her eyes. Gag.

Danny flagged down the bartender, and ordered Kathryn another drink while requesting his usual too.

Pen wished she could say she had planned this, but she really hadn't. Kathryn had been wanting to meet him for a few months now, and BAM… Pen could clearly see the instant attraction between the two. Hell, a blind person could.

"Want another one?" The bartender asked of her drink.

"No, thank you. I'm good."

He nodded and shot her a sympathetic look for the love fest that was going on a mere foot from her. She just shrugged and smiled.

Danny and Kathryn were laughing now and carrying on as if they had known each other for years. Pen shook her head. This whole situation was just too funny. She almost couldn't believe that something like this could happen, if she hadn't just witnessed it. Pen used this opportunity (the opportunity of being invisible) to pull out her iPhone and shoot off a quick text message to the number Eric had supplied. The reply was instant.

_5pm on Wednesday would be great. My address is 1415 Ali'i Court. MapQuest is actually really good with the directions._

_Great! See you then! _

"Sorry to interrupt…" Pen turned to the two. They looked at her, and they got the funniest looks. Like they had forgotten she was there. Pen chuckled. Nah, her feelings weren't hurt. She was way too amused for that, but happy at the same time. It had been a long time since Danny had met anyone that he seemed genuinely interested in, and she didn't want to get in the way of whatever this was.

"I just wanted to tell you, Kathryn, that we are on for Wednesday."

"Great!"

"On for what?" Danny asked.

"Looks like there's a trend of me being a consultant. I'm doing a favor for an acquaintance. He said he bought something on a business trip and he wanted me to take a look at it for him. Kathryn's coming with me as a second opinion."

"Yeah, I guess there's a lot of that going around." Danny mused. Kathryn giggled. Actually giggled. Pen was glad she wasn't the only one that did that.

"Yeah… well… I'm actually going to go… home now. Leave you two alone and all."

"Pen… I—" Danny began.

"Don't go!" Kathryn urged.

"It's fine, really. You two keep talking. It's good you're getting along and all." Understatement. "I'll see you both later!"

It was dusk when Pen stepped outside the bar. The sunset, as it usually was in Hawaii, was breathtaking. Slinging her messenger bag higher up on her shoulder, Pen meandered down the street in the direction of her apartment. She had to admit that Hawaii was really growing on her. She could even overlook the heat, lack of a real winter and fall (which were her favorite seasons), and no snow. This was her home now. She really liked her job. She loved where she lived. The people that she had met though really made her experience here. They were all a colorful cast of characters and she wouldn't replace any of them. Especially Steve. Steve. She wanted to see Steve.

"Well, I didn't think that I would be hearing from you." Steve answered after the second ring of the phone call she impulsively decided to make to the man that had been dominating her thoughts all day.

"Yeah… the usual beer night kinda… didn't happen." And she proceeded to explain about the hilarious situation, and recalling it made Pen laugh hard again.

"Penny the Matchmaker. Has a nice ring to it."

Pen couldn't get over his use of "Penny." It made her face flush every time. Damn him!

"Yeah… right. You're not cute." Lie.

Steve chuckled.

"This means you're free." He stated matter-of-factly.

Pen smiled.

"I suppose it does."

"Good. Where are you?" He asked.

"I'm standing in front of the steps at my apartment building."

"Do you like Mexican? There's a great restaurant a couple blocks down and over from where you live."

"I love Mexican!" She replied.

"Great! It's called _La Cantina_. I'll leave now and be there shortly."

"See you in a few then!"

When Pen hung up, her heart swelled. She was going to see Steve after all! The thought excited her more than the chance to look at the _khopesh_. And that was saying something!

* * *

In a condo on a remote beach around Honolulu, Jin Lo Ming stood in front of floor to ceiling windows, over looking the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean outside. He was waiting for a phone call he knew was coming, and he wasn't really looking forward to hearing what his boss had to say. Sure enough, not two seconds later, the phone rang.

"What did I tell you?" Asked the cool, calm, and collected voice on the other end as soon as Jin had answered the call.

"You told me to take care of Bud, and I did." Jin answered, just as coolly.

"Yes, I told you to take care of him, but I did not mean for you to take care of him with one of the products!" The collectedness of the voice on the other end was waning. Jin's patience was waning. He had no time to deal with this guy.

"But I liked the sword." He replied insolently.

There was silence on the other end of the line for quite awhile. Jin, at one point, thought the call had been dropped.

"The reason _you_ are still in existence is because you are good. Damn good. Other than that I would have _you _taken care of. Now, the next time I ask you to do something like that, don't do it with a product and DON'T leave the body any where easily discoverable. GOT IT?" The voice's tone had steadily gotten louder through it's tirade, culminating with full on shouting at the last two words.

Jin gritted his teeth. One of these days…

"Yes sir, I understand."

"Good. Be prepared for another shipment in a couple of days. I will let you know the date, time, and location."

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Then a click, and the call was disconnected. Jin loosened the muscles in his jaw, lest he crack a couple of teeth. He pulled the phone from his ear, and threw it across the room. One of these days…

* * *

An hour later, Pen found herself in a booth in _La Cantina_ Mexican restaurant, laughing hysterically over a story Steve had just told about a prank he played as a Midshipman at the Naval Academy. It involved peanut butter, scotch tape, and a sleeping friend. Don't ask.

"I just… can't imagine you doing something like that… you're too… intense." Pen said, leaning back against the booth, totally ready to go into a food coma. Steve was leaning forward, elbows on the table, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Oh, I'm capable. It's just… the SEALs kind of beat you straight, if you know what I mean."

"I get ya, I get ya."

There was a lapse in conversation. Steve was looking at her with a small grin now, and it was sort of disconcerting Pen.

"Are you happy you called me?" Steve asked her.

"I am, yes." Pen replied. She was grinning like a fool. She never grinned like a fool. Steve had funny effects on her. She couldn't control it. Damn.

"So they just… kind of ignored you then?"

"Eh, they were too busy making goo goo eyes at each other. It didn't hurt my feelings or anything. You had to have been there." Pen shrugged. Then chuckled at the memory. She wondered what they were doing at that moment. Then, she really didn't want to wonder what they were doing.

"You just had a funny look on your face." Steve said, suddenly. Pen shook herself back to reality, and laughed.

"Yeah, bad mental images. Happens sometimes."

Steve laughed.

"Oh my Goodness. Steve?" Asked a female voice. Pen looked up to see this beyond beautiful, tall, slim blonde goddess. She wore skinny jeans, a light pink tank top, and sandals. Her long blonde hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail, and she had a massive smile on her face… directed right at Steve.

"Oh… Hi, Detective St. John."

"Call me Izzy, remember?" She was way too chipper and bubbly. She didn't seem at all like a detective.

"Right… Izzy. This is Penny, Penny… this is Izzy. She's a detective with HPD. She was helping Danny and I with the antiquities case." Steve introduced.

"Nice to meet you." Pen said. False.

"Hi, Penny!" She said. Pen REALLY wanted to roll her eyes, but figured that would be a little rude. Izzy then turned back to Steve. "Is she your sister, Steve?"

If Pen had been drinking something, she surely would have spewed it all over this fake ass bimbo. She had been to high school with girls like her. This woman _knew_ Pen was not Steve's sister; it was a way of saying that there was no way a person like Pen should be with Steve. Pen was pissed. But she was also curious. What would Steve say in response?

"No, she's not my sister." Steve replied.

Pen was disappointed. That was it? But then again, he probably didn't want it to get back to Danny any faster than it had too. And this girl clearly looked like she would blab. Pen could imagine that conversation between this blonde and Danny… it wouldn't turn out well… Danny was a detective too, and would figure it out. Hell, he's going to figure it out eventually.

"Oh." Insert mindless insane giggle here. "My bad."

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked her. Pen would probably have been more angry at this chick if it wasn't for the annoyed tone in Steve's voice. He really didn't want her here either.

"Just having margaritas with some friends. They're the best drinks in all of Hawaii." She had motioned to a group of three girls in a booth in the corner who looked like carbon copies of her. They were watching the exchange, and were whispering behind their hands to each other. Pen was having flashbacks to High School again. Yeesh.

"That's nice. Enjoy." Steve said, trying to be polite, but also trying to get this girl to get on her way.

"Um… thanks. See you later then!" And then she practically bounced to the back of the restaurant to her friends. The whole time, she swung her hips a little too much. Pen turned back toward Steve who was purposefully looking at the wall to his right. He did not look pleased.

"You want to get out of here?" He asked, suddenly.

"Definitely." Pen sighed.

She finally managed to convince him the world wouldn't end if she paid this time, and she swore he flinched when her credit card was swiped, like there was going to be an explosion of some kind.

Ever the perfect gentleman, Steve walked Pen back to her apartment. It was a slow, lazy kind of walk, because neither wanted to leave the other just yet. At one point, Steve reached down and laced his fingers with Pen's. She smiled to herself and squeezed his hand.

"I just realized, you left your car back at the restaurant." Pen pointed out once they came to a stop in front of her apartment.

"It's not like it's on the other side of town." Steve pointed out.

"True."

Now what to do? Pen wondered to herself. She _still_ didn't want to leave Steve. Was that pathetic of her? She honestly didn't care if it was.

"Get any breaks in the case yet?" Pen asked, breaking the silence that had befallen between them.

"Not yet." Steve sighed. Frustration took over his face. Pen wondered if this was the aneurysm face that Danny talked about.

"I'm sorry." And she really was. Despite the fact of such priceless and ancient artifacts being within reach of her, she found it awful that they were being used in such ways. Even though they would have been used in much the same way in their own respective time periods.

"Don't apologize." Steve said, lifting a hand to run his fingers along her cheek. "We'll catch a break eventually, and we'll find the guy."

Pen didn't really know what he had said after "Don't apologize." She was too distracted by his ministrations.

"And we'll figure out who's bringing in all these artifacts too." Steve continued. "And I'll arrest them… for you."

That was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. They would arrest the assholes screwing with the world's history and heritage. Pen almost wanted to cry.

"How sweet." Pen said, sincerely.

Steve grinned widely.

"You think I'm sweet?"

"In your own special way." Pen replied with a laugh.

Steve couldn't help himself; he wanted to kiss her badly. Every moment that he spent with her, he wanted more. She was so smart and funny, and she made that stonewall around his heart shake to its foundations. Of it's own accord, his hand threaded through her curly hair, grabbed hold gently, and guided her lips to his. This kiss, much like the one they had shared the day before, was sweet and gentle. It made Pen's toes curl. Slow? She had wanted to take _this _slow? Was she crazy? But, apparently the Powers That Be remembered this promise, because the kiss was rudely interrupted by the sounds of the Law and Order theme song. It was the ringtone Pen used for Danny. Steve pulled away from her, and Pen cursed loudly.

"What?" She asked.

"I think I might have the wrong number. The person that keeps answering this phone doesn't sound like my best friend."

Pen sighed.

"Hello to the person that I keep dropping my life to answer the phone for. How can I help you?"

"Ouch, what the fuck, Pen? Is it that time of the month or something?"

"You better stay the hell away from me for the next few days if you don't want to be punched in the face and kicked in the nuts." Pen answered scathingly. Steve looked taken aback at the seriousness in Pen's voice.

"Ok then." And there was silence on the other end; Pen had thought for a second that he had hung up on her, but she could hear him breathing. She massaged her right temple for a minute, feeling a headache coming on. Damn what was wrong with her? She never was that hateful to Danny.

"I'm sorry." She practically whispered.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it, hun. Sometimes I'm frustrating, I know. It's why I'm got divorced… I think."

"Sometimes?"

"Ok, ok, all the time?"

Pen laughed.

"Look, I was just calling to tell you thanks for introducing me to Kathryn. We're going on a date on Friday."

"That's great!" Pen said. She was happy for them both.

"She's incredible, Pen. It's crazy because I just met her but I feel like… I don't know."

Pen looked up at Steve, who had been watching her. He smiled at her when they locked eyes, and she smiled back.

"I know what you mean." She replied.

"I've got Gracie again on Saturday. Brunch again?"

"Definitely."

"Great. I'll leave you alone now. Talk to you later."

"Later."

"Danny again?" Steve asked when Pen put the phone back into her bag.

"How could you tell?" Pen asked sarcastically. He shrugged.

"Just a hunch."

"I suppose I should get inside. I told one of my students I would help her with a paper at 8 a.m. tomorrow. She couldn't make any of my other office hours." Pen said.

"At least you're helpful and accommodating to your students. Some of the professors at the Academy weren't."

He pulled her into his arms, and Pen felt like she could stay there forever. He was warm, he smelled absolutely fantastic, and she felt completely invincible in his strong arms.

"When can I see you again?" He asked her, resting his chin on the top of her head. Pen almost didn't answer because she had practically fallen asleep. She had laid her head on his chest, and the beating of his heart practically put her to sleep.

"The exact moment that we are both not busy."

His chuckle rumbled through his chest, and Pen decided that it was the best sound in the world.

Pen nearly cried out in protest when he pulled out of their embrace.

"The faster you get inside, the faster it will be when the moment comes when we're both not busy."

Pen's heart nearly melted.

"Which you better do soon; before I don't let you leave my sight." Steve continued. He watched her walk up the steps to the front door, and stayed there as she gave a slight wave good bye and disappeared inside. It was getting harder and harder for him to let her go. Steve ran his hands over his face and began a fast, brisk walk back to his car. The further he got away from her, the easier it became to fight the urge to barge into her apartment and… and do what? Something caveman-like and beastly, probably. He couldn't do that. She was a respectable woman, and though he could be brutish… he was not a brute. He was a good man… right?

**A/N: Sorry to you all! I had to completely rewrite a section of this because I absolutely hated it. The holidays kind of got in the way too… and I ate WAY too much, haha. Happy New Year to you all, and thanks, as always, to all of my reviewers. And thank you to rice117 for the kick in the butt, and for just being awesome! **


	10. Chapter 10: ICE

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Ten: ICE**

**Disclaimer: I seriously hate repeating myself… I don't own Hawaii Five-0. If I did, I would make Scott Caan take his shirt off once in awhile…**

**A/N: Hawaii Five-0 won Favorite New Drama at the People's Choice Awards. YAY! Congrats to the cast and all involved. Also, in this chapter, there is a nod to one of my other favorite shows: NCIS. Love Gibbs.**

"You're kidding me?" Steve asked, disbelievingly.

"I'm sorry, bossman. I've got nothing." Was the reply from Dave Monroe, standing across from Steve. Dave was vaguely glad there was a lab table between him and the Naval Officer, because the look the Lieutenant Commander was broadcasting made Dave think the Vulcan Neck Pinch was about to be used. Or a SEAL Neck Pinch. Did they have something like that? Dave wouldn't be surprised.

"There was nothing?" Steve asked again, probably the tenth time.

"Nothing, bossman. AVIS came back with nothing on the partials that we got from either murder weapon. It could be that your murderer doesn't have a record, or it could be that the prints we got weren't a good sample. I'm really sorry, sir, but… I can't give you anything." It was probably the hardest thing Dave had ever had to say. The frustration was exuding through the SEAL, and Dave wished like Hell he had _something_.

"Thanks." Steve replied, making a quick exit back up the stairs to Five-0.

"Morning Steve."

God dammit. Steve could not take any more torture this morning.

"Detective St. John." Steve acknowledged.

"What's it going to take for you to call me Izzy?" Asked the blonde while giving him this smile like she was eyeing a piece of meat. Steve had never been so annoyed with a woman before.

"Probably a couple more reminders." Steve replied as he continued walking. He didn't have time to chat. He had to get with his team and look over all the evidence again. There had to be something they could go on. Something, anything at all. Steve would take whatever they could get.

* * *

"Look, boss, I hate to say it… really I do… but sometimes cases don't yield much. You know, that whole first 48 hours thing…" Someone had to say it, and Chin was the only one brave enough. Kono and Danny were wincing for the blow that was sure to come from their fearless leader.

"I know Chin, I know. But I don't believe in cold cases." Steve replied.

Chin sighed, glancing over the myriad screens holding all the evidence that was collected and pictures of the victims. He didn't like cold cases either. Especially when there were multiple major crimes occurring. Without prints they had nothing to go off, no one to interrogate. Same thing with absence of DNA. No witnesses. Just… a huge load of nothing.

"Maybe we're working the wrong angle." Kono supplied. "Maybe we should stop looking at murder and—"

"Work the smuggling angle." Steve interrupted, suddenly looking excited. "We need to talk to ICE."

"ICE?" Kono asked.

"It's a federal agency. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They have teams that work to recover cultural property, art and other antiquities. I don't know why I didn't think about talking to them before…" It was the excited face, Danny noticed. Not overtly excited, obviously, Steve had to keep some level of aloofness, but it was still there. Steve worked his fingers across the touch screen keyboard to bring up contact information for the nearest ICE agency.

"Their nearest field office is in San Francisco?" Kono noticed as the information appeared on the screen.

"It's not the FBI. They're not everywhere. I worked with ICE once on a case a few years back. They're a lot more chill than the guys from the Bureau." Chin said.

Steve pulled out his iPhone and dialed the number he had found. He must have been transferred through five different people before he was able to talk to a Senior Special Agent.

"This is Special Agent Monteleone." The voice on the other end of the phone was male, gruff like he was a smoker, and older sounding.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander Stephen McGarrett from the governor's taskforce in Hawaii. I think we've got something that ICE might be interested in."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Steve and the rest of Five-0 were on a videoconference with Senior Special Agent Anthony Monteleone and his team. There were five of them all together, including Monteleone. The boss was middle aged, with salt and pepper hair, a couple days' growth of beard on his face, and a wrinkled shirt and tie. The rest of his team looked young and bright eyed. Two were men, one was blonde and blue eyed and had the looks of a movie star. The other had black hair, brown eyes, and the look of a newbie. The women were brunettes, attractive, but looked like they could do some serious ass kicking.

"Five-0, huh?" Agent Monteleone began. "We've heard about you guys. Doing some real good stuff down there." Same gruff voice as over the phone. From the looks of the guy (he reminded Steve of a former C.O. he used to have), that was as close as they would ever get to a compliment.

"Thank you, sir." Steve replied.

"What do you have that may interest us, Commander?" Monteleone asked.

Steve, with the aid of his team, filled in the ICE agents on what had been going on and what had been found.

"It does sound like you may have some smuggling going on. Normally, in your situation, I would be jacking jurisdiction from you, but we've got another major case we're working on at the moment. Plus, you guys seem like you can handle yourselves as good as any of us so… we'll just be an auxiliary force. We haven't heard any intel about anything happening on your happy islands. I'll do some digging, and get back to you with whatever I can find."

"Thank you, sir. Any help would be greatly appreciated."

"No problem. In the mean time, shake out any informants you may have. They would have a better idea than what I could find. Keep me posted on your progress."

Steve nodded.

"Will do, sir."

"A piece of advice: watch your shipping yards. Security and screening in places like that are a little lapse these days. It's easy for the perps to get in and get out with their product. Whoever may be orchestrating this is sending guys in to retrieve the goods, then they transport it somewhere else. Somewhere remote or some place that won't draw too much suspicion. Sometimes the artifacts could be concealed in something else, as a way to pass inspection should it crop up. And you want to be careful too, because sometimes, there could be a _True Lies_ situation."

"I think I must have missed that one." Steve said, looking around at his colleagues. Apparently they hadn't seen the movie either.

"It's Arnold Schwarzenegger." Spoke up the blonde, blue-eyed guy. "And Jaime Lee Curtis, 1994. He's a spy for a secret agency in the U.S. Government. He finds out that a Middle Eastern terrorist group was bringing in nuclear weapons hidden in Assyrian sculptures."

Great, that's all they would need. Five-0 hoped that this wasn't the case.

"Oh, and one more thing." Monteleone again. "It helps if you have an expert in the field. Just incase you need someone to authenticate something you might find."

Steve unconsciously grinned widely, and hoped Danny didn't notice.

"We have one, sir. A professor at a university here in Honolulu."

"Good. That's good. Anyway, keep us posted, kid. If you do find something big, let us know. We'll come down and get the artifacts. Part of our job is returning them to their proper country of origin. It's a good will thing, yada yada."

All members of Five-0 nodded. They were glad they had gotten to talk to these guys. They had gotten a little bit of information, and now had extra allies—federal allies. And now, it was time to shake up some informants.

* * *

"Did the Hanging Gardens of Babylon actually exist?"

Pen loved questions like these.

She was currently teaching another section of Freshman World History; the same lecture on Ancient Babylonia she had given yesterday. There was always _someone_ that asked this question.

"Well… we don't really know for sure. It _is_ listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but there is debate whether it actually existed or not. Some Greek historians wrote about them, but scholars aren't sure whether they were just making it up or not. There hasn't really been much archeological evidence found to support its existence. The gardens, if they were really around, would be in modern day Iraq. Babylon is several feet under sand and dirt… even if it wasn't such a volatile part of the world, it would take years to excavate. This is just another one of those history's mysteries that we may never solve."

Pen ended the class after a few more minutes of lecturing, and beat feet back upstairs to her office. This was her short day (done by 1 p.m.) and she also had a lunch date with Rachel and Grace.

They were waiting for her at a little bistro a little ways outside of the city. Pen paid the cab driver (she had yet to get a car since coming to Hawaii, she didn't really see a huge need for one yet) and hopped out, gladly accepting the little body that hurled itself into her arms.

"How's my favorite goddaughter?" Pen exclaimed, pulling away from Gracie and holding her at arms length. Gracie grinned up at her Aunt Pen.

"I'm your only goddaughter!" Grace pointed out.

"Yes, and therefore my favorite!"

Pen turned to Rachel and hugged her.

"Long time no see."

"You are looking well." Rachel smiled, her smooth British accent apparent.

The three made their way into the bistro and were seated in a booth by a window. They had been to this restaurant before, so they ordered drinks and their meal, and lapsed into easy conversation. At least, it was easy until Rachel made a certain comment.

"Grace was telling me that you have a boyfriend."

Pen choked on her sweet tea. A quick glance at Grace only showed her sporting a huge grin.

"Um…" Pen floundered, but Grace decided to come to her rescue.

"It's Steve. Daddy's partner. He's sooooo cute."

Seriously, the phrase "out of the mouths of babes" always seemed to jump into Pen's mind when she was around Grace.

"Steve?" Rachel looked skeptical, and sent a silent questioning glance to Pen. But Grace spoke again.

"I set them up. I made Steve promise that he would keep Aunt Pen company after the aquarium the other day."

Grace was actually wearing a shit-eating grin. It reminded Pen of Danny, back in the old days when he wasn't so hot headed and smiled more.

"Is this true, Pen?" Rachel asked.

God, it was the ultimate question right now, wasn't it? Pen really wished she could reply with the easy response: 42 (Oh, _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_!). But she knew that wasn't the answer. What was the answer? They had started this _thing_ so fast, and she made it clear she wanted to slow down, that she didn't even know what to call this relationship. It _was_ some kind of relationship, but whether you could really call it boyfriend/girlfriend, had yet to be seen.

"Um…" Pen was so eloquent when under the spotlight. "Sort of?"

"Will you and Steve get married, Aunt Pen? Because I really want to call him Uncle Steve."

Holy shit.

"Grace…" Rachel said in a warning tone, and Grace looked a little guilty.

"I don't think so, Gracie." Pen answered delicately.

Grace sat in thought for a second, and shrugged.

"Well, I'm still going to call him Uncle Steve anyway."

Pen sighed. Grace spoke again.

"I'm going to ask Danno to invite him to brunch on Saturday."

Pen felt the blood drain from her face. She should have seen this coming. How in the Hell was she going to get through brunch without Danny thinking something was amiss between his partner and his best friend? Ah, God dammit.

"That would be… great… Grace." Pen gulped. Thank God she had about three days to prepare herself for the inevitable nuclear bomb named Danny to explode.

The rest of the lunch went smoothly after that. Pen tried not to absently slip anything about Danny meeting Kathryn. It would have been a bit premature; obviously, as she really wasn't sure where this thing between them would go. Plus, she didn't know how Rachel would take it. Pen had a sneaking suspicion that both Rachel and Danny still had feelings for the other. Pen wouldn't be surprised. At one point, they had been inseparable. That kind of thing didn't just disappear. And, things would be a little bit more complicated because Grace was involved. Danny would not settle for someone who couldn't get along with Grace and vice versa.

They made their goodbyes outside the restaurant, and Pen expressed her excitement for brunch on Saturday.

"Of course you're excited." Grace said. "Uncle Steve is going to be there!"

The blood rushed to her face this time. Rachel noticed.

"You're going to have to tell me more about this man." She whispered into Pen's ear when they hugged. "I've met him once before… quite attractive."

Pen laughed. Another understatement. He was dead sexy.

* * *

Danny hated it when they ran. Of course, his partner, Captain America, absolutely loved the thrill of the chase. All they had wanted to do was talk to Kimo Makani. He was some low level thug that was supposedly in deep with the smuggling trade in Hawaii—humans, weapons… maybe antiquities? They'd be able to find out whenever Superman managed to catch him. Because Danny was nowhere near.

Steve hated it when they ran. Sure it was no problem for him to catch the person running, but he still hated to exert himself more than he had too. After all, all he wanted to do was talk to the guy. It's not like he was going to book him or anything. He must have done something recently not within the law. Steve honestly didn't care at this point. He just wanted some damn information.

Unfortunately for Kimo Makani, he managed to find himself down an alley with a dead end. Steve and Danny came tearing in, guns drawn.

"We just wanted to talk to you, man." Danny said, slightly out of breath.

"How was I supposed to know?" Makani shot back, hands raised now. Steve raised his own hands in a show of putting his gun away, and snapped it back into its holster at his hip. Danny followed suit.

"I just want some information from you. We're not busting you for anything, but we can if you don't give us what we want."

Makani was sweating bullets now; his Adam's apple was bouncing as he gulped.

"What do you want to know?" He croaked out.

"Smuggling. Antiquities smuggling. What do you know about it?"

"Antiquities?" Makani asked.

"Yeah, you know, old historical stuff." Danny supplied. "Old, old things that look rusted and beat up. They don't look like much."

Makani stood in thought for a second.

"I have heard some whispers about something like that."

"Go on." Steve urged.

"Apparently there's a new major player in town. They're funneling some pretty expensive stuff and selling it off to buyers all over the world. Whoever this person is, it's someone you don't want to mess with. I've heard there's already been two people killed over this stuff… whatever it is."

"What else do you know?" Danny asked.

"Nothing really. That's it, I swear."

"Find out something and I think we can overlook your next minor infraction." Steve said.

"Yo, man, I'm totally straight now. I don't do any of that shit anymore."

"Uh huh." Danny said, clearly not convinced.

"Here…" Steve spoke again, pulling out one of his cards. "You find anything out, let us know. If we don't hear from you by the end of the week, we'll come looking for you, and bust you for something, anything. Don't even _think_ about skipping town. Wherever you go… I'll find you."

"I'd believe him." Danny piped in at Makani's skeptical look. "He has special Navy SEAL powers one can only dream about."

"All right, all right. I'll do some digging for you. But nothing that's going to get me killed."

"That's all we can ask for." Steve replied.

* * *

Around eight o'clock that night, Pen's cell phone rang while she was watching old episodes of _The A-Team_ off Netflix. She smiled broadly when she read the caller ID.

"I guess one of those moments where neither of us weren't busy didn't happen today." Pen commented as she answered the phone.

"Unfortunately, no, it didn't." Steve replied.

"How was your day?" She asked, lying down on her couch, snuggling under a blanket to get a little more comfortable.

"The usual… chasing bad guys and all."

"You didn't get Danny shot or anything right?"

"Thanks for worrying about me. No, I didn't get shot either."

Pen laughed.

"Have you heard about Saturday?" She asked him.

"About brunch? Yeah, Grace called Danny and demanded that I be present on Saturday. How could I refuse?"

"You can't. It's really hard too. Trust me, I've tried."

It was really hard to say no to Grace. She was such a good kid. Smart as a whip, well behaved, but had a mischievous streak a mile long when she felt like it. Pen couldn't have asked for a better goddaughter.

"So… I have to keep my hands to myself then." Steve commented. Pen blushed profusely and was really glad that he couldn't see her.

"Preferably. I'd rather not have Danny know anything yet. He would probably have a heart attack. No lie. Although, Grace knows. I don't know how, but she does."

"It wouldn't surprise me. She's a smart one, definitely has her father's deducting skills. Plus, she was the one that gave me orders to keep you company."

Pen decided to keep the earlier conversation between her and Grace quiet. He didn't need to know Grace's request about the "M" word.

"So…" He spoke again. He sounded relaxed and content at the moment. Pen had to go and have a naughty mental image just then. It involved him, lying back on his bed, phone to his ear, his other hand resting under his head… completely naked. Pen shook the image from her head. But nope, it came back. "How was your day?" He asked.

"Um…" She gulped, feeling guilty at the thoughts she was having. "It was… fine."

"Just 'fine'?" He prodded.

"I mean… nothing as exciting as chasing bad guys. I gave lectures, had some office hours, and had lunch with Rachel and Grace. Then I ran some errands and came home to pay some bills. Prepared some more lectures, ate dinner, and now I'm watching episodes of _The A-Team_."

"That sounds exciting to me." Steve joked.

"Don't be a jerk." Pen chastised.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Steve chuckled. Damn, even his chuckle was sexy. And there went the mental images again.

"Hey Penny?" Steve spoke again, his voice dropping an octave and sounding breathy. Pen gulped. At the simple sound of his voice, her heart started beating faster and her body temperature rose. God damn. What was wrong with her? Hot flashes? _Really_?

"Hmm?" Was all she could manage.

"I wish I could have seen you today." He practically whispered. Pen's heart skipped a beat.

"I wish I could have seen you too." She whispered back.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" He asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure. I'm done with my classes by about 3:15ish, then I'm doing a favor for someone at 5. Maybe after?"

"A favor? What favor?" He sounded curious.

"Yeah. Do you remember that guy I was talking to that time we saw each other at Hau'oli Café? He bought something in Rome and wanted me to take a look at it."

There was nothing but pure silence on the other end of the phone. Pen had thought for a second her phone battery had died.

"You can't do that." And just like that, Steve's demeanor went from gentle and sweet to cold and a hard ass.

"What do you mean?" Pen asked, sitting up on the couch.

"I don't want you doing anything for that guy."

Pen couldn't believe this. Steve hadn't seemed like the type of guy to be uber controlling… he couldn't be _jealous_ could he?

"I'm not going by myself. My friend and colleague, Kathryn, will be there with me. It's no big deal."

"I don't care, you still can't go." Steve said with this note of finality. Pen could _not_ believe this!

"Excuse me. But who do you think you are, telling me I can't go somewhere? The last time I checked, you're not Danny, and you're not my father!" Pen could feel the ire rising up, like the first time she had met him and had the preconceived notion of what he was like.

"Pen, you _can not_ be around that guy! He's… he's…"

Pen noticed that he had called her Pen and not Penny

"He's what, Steve? You only met him once! How can you make a judgment on his character like that?"

Steve made to say something, but stopped himself. Pen had a feeling he wasn't telling her something.

"I don't want you to see him. Just… tell me you won't see him."

Pen was shocked and pissed. There was a note of… insecurity to Steve's voice. She had never heard him like that, nor did she think he was capable of feeling insecure. But the anger was overriding her sympathy. She had a boyfriend once that was controlling. She vowed never to let herself be in a relationship like that again. Steve had never once, in the few days they had known each other, tried to be like this. Pen didn't appreciate it.

"You know what Steve? I shouldn't be having this conversation with you. I don't _want _to be having this conversation with you... so… good night." And then, she hung up on him.

**A/N: Whew… there you are! Another update! As always, thank you, thank you, thank you to my awesome reviewers. You all are the shizzzzz! And a big thanks to rice117 and Gizzi1213 for the extra extra support/help. You guys are AWESOME!**


	11. Chapter 11: Ice Queen & Stone Cold Steve

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Eleven: Ice Queen and Stone Cold Steve McGarrett**

**Disclaimer: Hawaii Five-0. Me no own it. If I did, the entire cast of LOST would make cameos in the show… at least one in every episode. And I would have Jin and Sun reunited… wait… crap, never mind. This isn't LOST. LOST is gone, it's done. *****Tears***** **

Pen slept like shit that night. The phone conversation kept replaying itself in her mind like a broken record. Pen knew Steve was a bit… ok… a lot unorthodox in his methods of apprehending the bad guy, but never once in Danny's accounts or the time she had spent with him did he seem controlling. What was it about Eric Peterson that made him act how he did? Was he jealous?

She woke up in a foul mood. So foul, that she did something that she hardly ever did: straightened her hair. Pen couldn't really explain why she felt the need to do it, but she did. Having curly hair, although nice, could be a pain in the ass sometimes.

For the rest of the day, she stayed in her foul mood. When she walked onto the floor where her office was, she kept her head down and tried not to make eye contact with anyone that she could have met on the way to her door.

A poor freshman from her Tuesday/Thursday class came in to talk to her about the two-page essay she had assigned. Pen was distant and didn't speak more than twenty words to the poor kid. He left even more confused about his assignment. Pen instantly felt guilty and called him back in to answer his question properly. Once he left for the second time, the foul mood fell into place again.

She really tried to perk up for her classes. She really did. But it wasn't working. Pen went through the motions, but her heart wasn't there. Mindlessly clicking the mouse to advance the slides, talking in monotone, not being enthusiastic about the material.

"And, in October of A.D. 54, the Emperor Claudius was most likely poisoned by his wife, Agrippina, the mother of Nero, who would become the next emperor of Rome." She recited to her Roman Empire class, _her favorite class_. Pen vaguely took note that all of her students looked like they were about to fall asleep. She didn't really care. Claudius was one of her favorite emperors to lecture about, and she just didn't care.

At lunchtime, she shut herself in her office and ate her ham and cheese sandwich in complete silence. There was no music playing, no trickling of that mini Zen fountain that you can get at the cash register in a Barnes and Noble; only the sounds of the traffic on the busy street below her. Her cell phone buzzed a few times with text messages, but Pen didn't really feel like looking to see whom they were from; let alone answering them.

She didn't understand men. Especially when they go all caveman-like on you. She was just doing a favor for Eric. It wasn't like she was going to sleep with him or anything. Pen couldn't really bring herself to like him like that. Not after spending time with Steve, talking with Steve, _kissing_ Steve. Stupid Steve.

* * *

Steve did not really sleep at all after he had been hung up on. His words kept replaying in his head like one of those cheesy dream sequences from some television sitcom. Why in the Hell had he practically freaked out on her like that? It was _very_ uncharacteristic of him. Seriously, this Eric Peterson guy's only crime is that he's an idiot. A huge, honking idiot. All she was going to do was be a consultant for something Peterson had bought. She'd be in and out in under an hour no doubt. So why in the fuck did that unsettle him so much?

He too woke up in a foul mood (after the hour or so of sleep he was able to catch). Uncharacteristically of him (again), he stayed in the shower for about thirty minutes, just standing under the scalding hot spray. Letting the water cascade over his head and back. After, Steve dressed in his usual attire: a white undershirt, a dark blue over shirt, dark blue cargo pants, and his desert combat boots.

Danny immediately knew something wasn't right with his partner as soon as Steve walked into Five-0 headquarters. Steve didn't acknowledge anyone as he marched to his office. Judging by the look on the lieutenant commander's face, he didn't want to be disturbed anytime soon. Danny had never seen Steve act like this. He glanced over into Chin's office at the man, who looked back at him and shrugged. Kono had the same confused look they all did. As if reading each other's minds, they collectively decided to just leave the boss man alone for now, and wait for him to approach them.

Around ten in the morning, a call came in for a bank robbery in progress; Five-0 was needed as back up. They all suited up in their bulletproof vests and hauled ass to the First Hawaiian Bank. Steve was at the wheel of the Camaro as always, and he was maneuvering the streets like a mad man. Danny felt like he was going to die at a couple of different points, but he knew better than to make comments as he normally would. The look was still on Steve's face. It was something akin to aneurysm face, except more intense. Danny couldn't fuck with that.

One of the bank robbers decided to run. Steve rejoiced in this fact. He felt like he needed a good chase and an even better take down to brighten his day. He tackled the perp into a wall, wrenched the dude's hands behind his back, and cuffed him. Only, it didn't really brighten his day. Not at all.

For lunch, he ate by himself in his office. Too keep his mind occupied, he began listing off the names of all the countries in Southeast Asia and surrounding environs. They had, for a time, been his area of operations while in the SEALs, and it had been important for he and his team to know everything they needed to know about the countries. Once he had finished that, he went on to recite them again, only this time listing their capitals as well.

God, what was it about this woman that had him acting all crazy?

Damn, there went his tactic of diverting his thoughts to something else.

He shouldn't have handled the situation like he had. He realized this. Steve knew better than to try and control a modern woman, of which Pen was, most of the time. He knew better than to tell her who and who not to see or help. He had fucked up. He had let his mouth speak before his brain could intervene. The question was: how was he going to fix this?

* * *

Pen was preparing herself for her last class of the day when Kathryn came bursting through the door. She hadn't bothered to knock or anything.

"What in the hell is wrong with you today?" She practically shouted at Pen. Kathryn looked pissed.

"What?" Pen asked, totally clueless as to what Kathryn's problem was. She hadn't seen or talked to her all day. She couldn't have done anything to piss her off.

"Don't' give me that innocent business. You don't call, you don't write... or text me back." Kathryn replied.

Ah, shit. Kathryn was the one that had been texting her all day? Pen had locked her phone in her desk and refused to look at it. She could have gotten the signal for the end of the world and she wouldn't have ever known it.

"Was it important?" Pen asked, rather bitchily.

Kathryn shook her head.

"Again, I ask, what in the hell is wrong with you today? You're like… Ice Queen or something."

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong, I'm fine." Pen replied, stuffing what she needed for class in her messenger bag.

"Bullshit."

Pen jerked her head up in shock. She hadn't ever heard Kathryn sound so harsh.

"Seriously, I'm fine, Kathryn."

"Uh huh. Why did one of my freshmen tell me in class today that Dr. Harrison was acting like someone had run over her puppy?"

"I don't have a puppy." Pen pointed out. Kathryn rolled her eyes.

"Just… tell me what's wrong, please? I was trying to text you about having lunch with me. And I was trying to text you about tonight, but I never got any response."

"I just… had a bad night last night." Pen replied.

"Ok… and why was it bad?"

"I had a bad dream, that's all."

"Again, I call your bullshit." Kathryn said, making herself comfortable in one of Pen's chairs. Pen sighed. She wasn't going to be allowed to leave until Kathryn heard the truth. She plopped back down into her desk chair; she was going to be there for a bit.

"The last time I saw someone act like this…" Spoke Kathryn again. "… it was over a guy. Do you have a guy you're not telling me about?"

"No." Pen answered defensively.

"You're hurting my feelings with your lying Pen. Seriously."

Pen sighed again.

"There is a guy!" Kathryn exclaimed, sitting up in her chair, excitedly. "You little sneaky 'ho!"

Pen felt the blood drain from her face. Great. That's all she needed was for Danny's latest squeeze to find out about her and Steve.

"Is it the guy we're going to see tonight?" Kathryn asked.

Pen could only shake her head.

"Who is it then? Come on! Spill!"

Pen had the distinct feeling she was back in high school again with the way Kathryn was acting.

"You have to promise me something." Pen said.

"Anything." Kathryn replied, leaning forward in her chair a little more, like she was just about to discover who really killed JFK.

"You have to promise me you won't tell Danny anything until we decide to tell him."

"Cross my heart." Kathryn said, doing the correct motion over her chest.

"It's Steve." Pen blurted out, like it was paining her to say it.

"Steve?" Kathryn asked, confused, like she wasn't expecting that response. "Danny's partner Steve. Steve the crazy Navy SEAL Steve?"

"Yes." Pen breathed out.

"Oh my God, Pen."

Pen remained silent for the next minute or so while this information sunk in. It kind of felt liberating… someone actually knew.

"How long has this been going on?" Kathryn asked.

"Well… I met him last Friday, he took me to Pearl Harbor on Saturday, and he kissed me on Sunday." Pen replied, somewhat sheepishly.

"Pen!" Kathryn was shocked. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

"Had what in me?" Pen asked, the defensiveness back again.

"You seem like such a practical, logical, down-to-earth person. I didn't think you were capable of a whirlwind romance. How is he in the sack?"

Pen was taken aback, and slightly offended.

"We haven't slept together, thank you very much. And I'm hurt that you think I'm that… that…"

"Whoops, sorry." Kathryn replied, wincing.

There was a minute of awkward silence before Kathryn continued.

"What happened last night that's got you in this mood?"

Pen recounted the phone conversation of the previous night. She knew it by heart now, because of that whole broken record bit and not being able to get much sleep because of it.

"He met the guy once and he thinks he knows him?" Kathryn asked.

"Pretty much. I just don't understand him. It's not like we've cemented our… relationship… whatever it is, as anything. For all I know, he could be seeing some other girl." The very thought made Pen's insides twist and pull. For his sake, there better not be anyone else.

"Well… don't write anything off just yet. See if he calls you again, if you ever check your damn phone. Maybe he'll give you a real explanation for his freak out. In the mean time, we go to this Eric guy's place, take a look at his statue, and see how that goes."

Pen nodded. Kathryn was right. At the moment, Pen really couldn't do anything. She didn't do anything wrong. She's doing a favor for a friend, and that is it. Reaching into her drawer, she pulled out her phone. She had four text messages from Kathryn and one from Danny about the time for brunch on Saturday. Nothing from Steve.

* * *

For, what must have been the tenth time in the past hour, Steve deleted a draft of a text message. It was meant to be an apology to Pen, but whatever he typed, he felt didn't do it justice. After the eleventh attempt a few minutes later, he came to the conclusion that he had to do this in person. He owed her that since the whole problem occurred over the phone.

"OK!" Danny yelled out as he barged into Steve's office. "Enough's enough! Why have you been hiding in your office the whole day?"

"I haven't been _hiding_." Steve replied. Ok, maybe he sort of had. The only time he had come out of his office that day was for the bank robbery. The rest of the time he had either been doing paper work, or brooding.

"You have, and I want to know why my partner is not on his game. If you're not on your game, there is an even higher chance of you getting me killed." Danny ranted, lots of hand gestures and arm waving.

"I am completely on my game." Steve replied.

"Ok, if you were, Stone Cold Steve McGarrett, why did you _almost_ walk into the Women's restroom a few minutes ago?"

"You saw that?"

Danny had to admit, Embarrassed Steve was hilarious. He knew he shouldn't be relishing this, but he couldn't help it. Steve was never not on his game. He was witnessing a whole new side to his partner. A surprisingly human side.

"So, you wanna tell old Danno what's going on?" The ex-Jersey cop asked as he sat in one of the armchairs in front of Steve's desk. He almost felt compelled to take out his notepad and take notes like a shrink, but decided against it because he wanted to keep his limbs intact.

"_Nothing_ is wrong." Steve said.

"You have 'lie face' on right now." Danny pointed out.

"Why are you still here?"

"Hey now, hey now. There's no reason for hostility. Like I said, I just need to know what is bothering my partner, that way we can find a solution, so if we get called out to a 'shots fired' call I know that you have my back… all of it."

Steve grumbled. He didn't need this crap from Danny right now. He wasn't in the mood. Well… he was _never_ in the mood for Danny's crap.

"You going to tell me who it is that's got your night vision goggles in a twist?"

Steve blanched. Why did Danny always seem to hit things on the head? Oh right, detective. It came with the job description. Steve found it unnerving that he seemed to pinpoint a "who" rather than a "what," that is bothering him.

"You got a girl I don't know about?" Danny asked. There he went again with knowing _exactly_ what it is that's going on.

_Yeah, your best friend and the godmother to your daughter. She's like no one I've ever met before and I can't stop thinking about her. I really stuck my foot in my mouth last night when I basically ordered her to not do something. Now, I'm afraid she'll never talk to me again_.

Right, like that would go over well.

"Your silence is establishing that, yes, it is indeed about a girl."

Steve shot Danny a withering look.

"That just confirmed it. What did she do to you? What did you do to her?"

Steve was getting really tired of the third degree. Guess he was used to giving it and not receiving it.

"Come on, Stephen." Oh boy, Danny had pulled out the "Stephen." "If you aren't going to spill to your partner, who are you going to spill too?"

He had a point. Sure he was a macho Navy SEAL, but even he recognized it wasn't good to hold things in.

"I said the wrong thing to her." No reason to specify who "her" was.

"And what did you say?"

"I told her to stay away from someone. She didn't like that very much."

"Yeah, I wonder why. For someone who's planned probably hundreds of covert missions and top-secret stuff, you certainly don't know how to speak to a woman. You don't just… order her, around. She's not one of your guys on your SEAL team. You don't act like a Neanderthal. Although it's cute sometimes, women don't appreciate it all the time."

"I know, I know." Steve said, in that way that made him sound like a child being scolded.

"You know, I had this girlfriend in high school once." Danny began. "She was a real catch. Straight A student, beautiful, star softball pitcher, destined to go to Harvard or Yale or something like that. Well, her best friend happened to be a guy. She didn't like it when I got all 'No, you can't see him, you have to hang out with me.' A couple months later she dumped me for him."

"So, you're saying, don't keep her away from her male friends because then she'll leave you for them?" Steve asked.

"Basically. Don't you ever watch chick flicks?" Danny knew that was the wrong question to ask the second the last word was out of his mouth. Steve just shot him a look.

Steve vaguely wondered how different this conversation would be going if Danny knew it was Pen they were talking about. And Steve also wondered how Danny would react to the knowledge that Pen was going to be with Mr. Harvard that night. He had a hunch that Danny would be gathering the SWAT team at that moment and arming himself to the teeth. Oh, if only Danny knew the whole truth. Steve smiled to himself at the thought.

"What are you going to do to apologize?" Danny asked, breaking Steve out of his thoughts. Steve really was thanking his lucky stars, though, that his partner wasn't trying to pry and ask who the girl in question was. Even though it would be more entertaining, Pen would kill him… even more than she wanted to right now.

"I haven't… haven't really… thought of anything yet."

Danny shook his head and sighed.

"It's a good thing Danno is here now."

Steve wasn't so sure about that.

* * *

Pen and Kathryn decided on a quick bite to eat before making their way out of the city and to Eric Peterson's place. Luckily, whilst driving in Kathryn's Honda Civic, the two women spotted a Wendy's and immediately decided to pull in. Who said you couldn't have fast food once in awhile?

Once the two women were done eating, they hopped back into the car, and drove out to Eric Peterson's estate. Estate was the only way Pen could describe it. Kathryn was gawping like a fish the whole time they drove up his driveway. He wasn't outside of the city too far, which helped with his morning commute into work. But he was just far enough outside of the city where it was rural, and had a great view of the ocean.

They were buzzed in at the gate, and the wrought iron bars slide open smoothly. The blue Honda came to a halt in the circular driveway, which housed a black Cadillac Escalade and a cherry red Porsche.

"Tell me why it is that you're with Steve and not this guy?" Kathryn asked as the friends took in Eric's mansion. It really was a mansion, in a Hawaiian sense of the word. It was very beach-y but also very… big.

The front door opened and Adonis walked out. Pen shut her eyes and shook her head. Nope, it was just Eric Peterson. His sandy blonde hair looked really blonde in the dying light of the setting sun. He wore casual clothes: blue jeans (that really showed off his ass—assets), a concert t-shirt (which showed off pretty impressive pectoral muscles) of some band Pen had never heard of, and deck shoes. Eric was smiling broadly. Pen heard Kathryn sigh.

"Welcome ladies. I trust that it wasn't hard to get here." He said, motioning for them to follow him into his house.

"No, not at all." Kathryn said rather dreamily. Pen, who had been walking close to her, elbowed her in the rib.

"Ow." She hissed under her breath.

"This is Dr. Kathryn Murphy." Pen started with the introductions. "Kathryn this is Eric Peterson."

"It's really nice to meet you, Dr. Murphy." Eric said, holding out his hand. Kathryn looked absolutely pleased to be shaking it.

"Please, call me Kathryn."

Pen rolled her eyes.

"As long as you call me Eric." He smiled again. Pen had never noticed the slight dimple in his left cheek. It made him even more attractive if that was possible.

"So, Eric, would you like our credentials before you trust our judgment on whatever you bought?" Pen joked as they followed him into a spacious living room.

"I don't know. Should I ask for them?" He said, going along with the gag.

"It's really up to you." She replied.

"Nah, it's ok. I trust you." He winked. That wiped the smile right off Pen's face. Oh God. He winked at her. But all she could think about is what she would feel if Steve winked at her. Because, if she was being honest, there was nothing. Nothing at all when Eric winked at her. The more charm he laid on her, the less she felt. All she could think about was that controlling jerk! Stupid Steve.

"Can I offer you ladies a drink? Water? Beer? Wine?" Eric offered, ever the gracious host.

"Maybe some water?" Kathryn asked. Pen nodded in agreement, and he disappeared and reappeared with cool bottles of water.

"Thank you." Kathryn and Pen both said at the same time.

As Pen took sips from her bottle, she scanned the room. He certainly had some impressive decorations. A coat of arms, swords, katanas, spears, rifles, whatever one could think of. And they weren't all modern weapons either.

"Uh… I have the statue set up in another room if you're ready to look at it." Eric offered.

"Lead the way." Pen gestured. He smiled at her again, and motioned for them to follow. Kathryn and Pen trailed along at a safe distance.

"Seriously, why aren't you with _this_ guy?" Kathryn whispered to her.

"He's… he's nice, but he's just a friend." Pen replied, taking a nervous chug from her water. Kathryn shook her head.

"If I wasn't so suddenly and completely enthralled by your best friend—thanks for the introduction by the way—I would be all over that guy like white on rice. Serious hottie!"

Pen wanted to laugh, but held it in.

"All right, here we are." Eric said, having stopped in front of a closed door. If there was one thing that was nice about his house, everything was so open and tall. Nothing about it made Pen feel claustrophobic. The room that he revealed where the statue was kept furthered her opinion. It was a huge room that was basically a Zen garden… right in the middle of this guy's house. There were fountains and plants and a bench to sit on and, of course, statues.

But there was one statue that caught Pen's eye. It was absolutely beautiful. It wasn't very tall, probably only about four feet tall. It was made of smooth marble with impeccable detail of a woman, draped in cloth, hair up in a coif, an owl perched on her shoulder.

"Well…" Pen breathed, stepping closer to the statue. "Hello, Minerva."

**A/N: Whew! I'm actually getting really excited about this story. I've never really done anything quite as complicated as this, and I'm really stoked to see where it's going. **

**Thank you to all my wonderful, wonderful reviewers! I love you all, really and truly. Your continuing support keeps me going. And, of course, an extra thank you to rice117 and Gizzi1213. I couldn't do it without you guys!**


	12. Chapter 12: No Provenance?

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Twelve: No Provenance?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0, but if I did I would make Daniel Dae Kim be in character as Jin from LOST whenever he was around me. Even though I don't understand Korean.**

Pen had probably seen tons of pictures of such statues as this, but she had never really seen one up close. She held her hands behind her back just in case she felt the compulsion to touch it. Circling the object to get a better look, she took in the detail.

"Do you have the provenance?" Pen asked, turning to Eric who was standing back, letting Pen get up close and personal with the statue.

"No, the gentleman I bought it from didn't have one." Eric said.

Pen had a bad thought. She didn't mean for it to pop in her head, but one word flashed across her mind before she could stop it: idiot. Why do you buy something like this without the provenance? How do you know this is real?

"No provenance?" She asked, trying not to sound condescending. Kathryn, the person that studied art history for a living, tried to hide her own disgust. Pen had a feeling Kathryn was reading her mind: just another reason why Pen wanted Steve and not Eric.

"I know that's bad…" Eric said, hanging his head slightly like he knew he had messed up. "… but I honestly didn't and still don't care. I just think that it's a beautiful piece… real or not, I still wanted to bring it home."

"Understandable, but wouldn't you have _not_ wanted to be charged an arm and a leg for a fake?" Kathryn asked.

"This really didn't cost me that much." Eric replied.

Pen was still silent, looking for something, anything to either authenticate this or prove it a fake.

"So, Dr. Harrison, what can you tell me about her?" Eric asked. He had a slight smile on his face, almost like he was excited to hear what Pen had to say.

"I would say, judging by its height and size, that it is most likely a statue meant for personal veneration, rather than temple veneration. It was probably in someone's _domus_ or house, meant for just the family to worship. Maybe in a garden a lot like this. There would be candles and offerings around it as well. The owl perched on her shoulder, makes me think that she is a statue of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, one of the main gods in the Roman pantheon. Owls were one of her symbols."

Kathryn stepped up closer to the statue and gave it a once over as well.

"I agree." She said. "The draping is… exquisite… nothing less for a goddess. There's even a shield down here by her feet, which is also a symbol of Minerva. She was the Roman equivalent of the Greek Athena, therefore she was also a goddess of war."

Kathryn sent a questioning look to Pen to verify that she was correct. Pen nodded enthusiastically.

"What do you think?" Pen asked her. "You think it's real?"

"It's tough to say for sure without doing chemical tests, but at first glance, I would say it's real. There are no signs that it has been faked or anything. The tool marks in the detailing look like any other ancient Roman statue I've seen. Some of the faked statue tool marks look way too neat. The real statues… well… they _look_ smooth to the naked eye, but with closer inspection, you can see the roughness of the ancient craftsmanship."

Pen was _very _glad she had brought Kathryn with her. She may not know the subject matter well, but she sure knew how to spot a fake or the real thing.

"So you would say it's real?" Eric asked Kathryn.

"I would say that I am 95% sure that it is… indeed… real."

"Excellent." Eric seemed pleased; he was still smiling from ear to ear. Pen, on the other hand, was slightly irritated. Ok, maybe a lot irritated. This guy bought an antique… an _ancient_ antique… and didn't seem to care that it could have been a fake. Why would he take a gamble and possibly waste a lot of money on something like this? He didn't pay much for it? Her ass! This statue, even though it probably wasn't connected to anyone truly famous, was probably still priceless!

"Eric… if you don't mind my asking… what is it you do for a living?" Pen asked boldly. She needed to know. She needed to know where an idiot like this was getting money to take chances on _maybe_ buying an antique.

"I own a shipping company here on Oahu."

Pen stood for a second in thought, and then… it clicked.

Holy. Shit.

Pen felt her heart plummet and the blood drain from her face. A shipping company. On Oahu. A shipping company! How many shipping companies were there on Oahu? What was the chance that this guy owned Oahu Shipping where those dead bodies were showing up? Where antiquities smuggling could possibly be occurring? Was this why Steve freaked out last night? Pen knew in that instant, that Steve had met with Eric Peterson more than one time. He had met him at least three times, the first time when Eric had been sitting with her. The other times were for questioning in two _homicide_ _investigations_.

Pen had never felt more like an idiot than she did right then.

He was probably a fucking suspect in Five-0's investigation. A _suspect_! God, why hadn't Steve told her? Her foul mood was coming back. She could feel it creeping over her like she was turning into Spiderman's evil twin, Venom. Son of a bitch.

"Could I entice you ladies to stay for dinner? A form of payment for coming all the way out here to check out my statue." Eric offered. Before Kathryn could open her mouth and accept (although Pen was sure that Kathryn probably wouldn't now), Pen gave him his answer.

"No… thank you, Eric. We ate on the way here, but it was no problem for us to come out. You have a nice piece of art here… take good care of it."

"Of course." Eric began. "Are you sure I can't convince you to stay for dinner?"

"We're positive." Kathryn replied, getting the hint from Pen.

"Ok, well, let me walk you guys back out to your car."

Pen felt a little calmer (and safer) when she was buckled in the passenger seat of Kathryn's Honda Civic. Eric leaned against her side of the car, and bent down to speak to her and Kathryn through the open window.

"I really appreciate you guys coming up here to look at Minerva." He said, that smile on his face, revealing his dimple. Pen didn't feel like it was a real smile anymore. She felt like it was a pretend smile, like he was hiding something behind it. Whatever it was, Pen didn't want to know.

"It's really no problem." Pen told him. "No problem at all, right Kathryn?"

"Right." Kathryn supplied.

"You two drive carefully now. Maybe I'll see you later at the café, Pen?" He asked, seeming almost hopeful.

"Yeah, maybe." Pen said, feigning hope and interest. She really hoped she _didn't_ see this guy ever again. The realization of where he worked flipped a switch in her brain, and all she could think was that he was a creep. She felt… dirty?... around him. Like he was polluting her in some way or another. Pen wasn't sure where it was coming from, but she knew she wanted to get as far from him as she could.

They bid their last goodbyes, and Kathryn took off around the circular drive and back down the driveway out to the main road. They rode in silence for awhile until Kathryn broke it.

"I see why you prefer Steve."

"That guy was an idiot." Pen stated. "I've only ever really talked to him a couple of times before, and they were never at any great length. But… damn… he's an idiot. Buying an old antique like that without the provenance. He couldn't have cared less if he was swindled!"

"I about had a heart attack when he said he didn't have the provenance." Kathryn agreed. "My entire being was fighting to not turn around and garrote the man with the vines growing in the garden. The statute could be faked, like the James Ossuary or if real, it could have been stolen from an undiscovered archaeological site. "

Pen hesitated a second, and then spilled everything she knew about the current case that Danny and Steve were working on, and the connection that Eric Peterson surely had to it.

"Holy shit." Kathryn breathed, echoing Pen's earlier feelings on the matter. "That's really weird that you know and are… sort of friends… with the guy that is a suspect in an antiquities smuggling case. Steve's freak out makes sense now. He didn't want you hanging around that complete dense head who could be a shyster!"

"I wish I had listened to him." Pen mused. She couldn't help but have the feeling that she was into something that she couldn't see; that she can't get out of. What it is exactly, she couldn't be sure. But, Pen had felt that she crossed some sort of line, and she wasn't sure how to find her way back across it. She sent silent prayers up that she would never have to see or meet up with Eric Peterson again. And she hoped and prayed that she got up the courage to tell Steve he was right.

* * *

"Who is _that_?" Kathryn asked as she pulled to a stop outside of Pen's apartment. Pen looked out the window to see Steve, sitting on her front stoop and she immediately felt Venom drain out of her body; man, she was so happy to see him. She felt safe again.

"That's Steve." Pen replied, and despite her previous feelings on the man, she smiled broadly at the sight of him.

"_That's_ Steve?" Kathryn asked incredulously. "He's… absolutely hot."

Pen laughed, and gathered her things to leave the car.

"Wow…" Kathryn spoke again, not able to stop looking at poor Steve. "Seriously… now I _really_ know why you aren't ending up with Eric Peterson. Steve is definitely more your type."

"You think so?" Pen asked her.

"Oh yeah. He's a Naval officer, right? An ex-SEAL? Come on… I see you going for that over that namby-pamby, idiot businessman, Eric Peterson. I see you with the more rugged type than the clean-cut, preppy type."

Funny that Kathryn should say this, considering all that Pen had ever gone for in her life was the clean-cut, preppy type. Pen smiled.

"Thank you… I think?"

"What are you doing still in here? Get the hell out of my car and get that man."

Pen laughed again, and gave Kathryn a mock salute.

"See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, yeah. Get the hell out of the car… NOW. Oh! And I promise not to tell Danny… even though you probably should sooner… rather than later…"

Pen waved that off and scrambled out of the car. Kathryn peeled off down the street, as Pen sent her a final wave. She then turned and faced Steve, who was now standing, and waiting for her to approach him. Pen hiked up her messenger bag and stepped up to the door.

"Hi." He greeted her lamely.

"Hi." She replied, just as lamely.

"You're hair… it's different." He noticed.

"I straightened it this morning." She replied.

"I like it."

"Thanks."

"I uh… brought these for you." He said, thrusting out the thing he had been hiding behind his back. It was a beautiful bouquet of stargazer lilies… which happened to be her favorite flower. Pen grinned so widely, that her face was in danger of cracking in half.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Steve shuffled from foot to foot like he was nervous or something. Pen didn't know what he had to be nervous about. It was just her.

"How did you know that lilies were my favorite?"

"Danny was giving me advice on how to apologize to you. Telling me what I already knew, to not be controlling, etcetera."

Pen's face whitened.

"Oh no, he doesn't know. He just thinks that it's some generic girl. But I asked him his advice on what flowers to get, specifically going on what Dr. Harrison may like, and he told me."

"Sneaky. You learn that stuff in SEAL school?" Pen asked with a smile.

Steve just laughed, but then grew serious.

"I wanted to apologize." He spoke again. "What I did… was inexcusable. I shouldn't have told you what to do, and for that… I really am sorry. I can't tell you who you can and can not hang out with, and I'm—"

"Completely correct." Pen interjected.

"What?" He asked, taken aback.

"The execution of what you were trying to tell me was a little off, but I understand. Why didn't you tell me he was the owner of Oahu shipping? And probably one of your suspects I imagine."

"I didn't want that to influence your opinion on him." Steve said. "He is a person of interest and not really a suspect, well not yet anyway, and you guys seemed to be becoming friends and I didn't really want to take a friend from you. Even though the guy is a complete—"

"Idiot? Yeah, I found that out as well."

Steve laughed and let out a sigh of relief. This was already going a lot better than he thought it was going to go.

"I've been…" Steve sighed. "I guess you could say miserable… all day. I don't know what I was thinking when I said what I said to you. You're a grown woman and… you can do whatever you want to do."

Pen smiled. He was so cute when he was acting all ashamed like he had eaten the last cookie out of the cookie jar. She touched her hand to his cheek to get him to look at her.

"It's ok. You were concerned. There's no crime in that."

"I know but—"

Before he could ramble on even more (Pen had forgiven him the moment she realized Eric was an idiot), she dragged his lips to hers and silenced him. He didn't respond at first out of shock, but when he recovered he cupped her face in his hands and moved his lips against hers. Pen soon pulled away, much to his dislike.

"You're forgiven. Now let's not talk about it anymore."

"I do have to say one more thing about it though."

Pen laughed.

"Ok?"

"I admit I was… a little jealous."

Pen's eyebrows rose and were in danger of disappearing into her hairline.

"You were jealous of… him?" She asked; just to make sure she was hearing correctly.

"Yeah… the thought of you being anywhere near him… it made me want to shoot something. Preferably him. In a very inconvenient place."

Pen started laughing. And laughing. Steve smiled, and started laughing as well. Pen couldn't believe it. This tough hard ass was jealous of Mr. Blondie? She wondered why in the hell she had always gone for guys like Eric. She couldn't fathom going back to someone like him after Steve. Maybe Kathryn was right, maybe Steve was her real type?

"Have you eaten?" Pen asked Steve once she had gotten control of her laughing fit.

"No." He said.

"Will you come up and let me cook you something?"

He smiled and nodded.

* * *

"Here you go! It's nothing special really… I haven't been grocery shopping in awhile." Pen said, setting down a plate in front of Steve as he sat at the small table in her kitchen.

"It looks delicious. Thank you." Steve said, digging into the chicken and pasta in a prima rosa sauce Pen had made him. She had also steamed him up some string beans, and gave him a beer to top it off.

"Are you gonna eat?" He asked her.

"I ate earlier." She replied, leaning her hips up against the counter and taking a sip of her own beer.

"So… you made this just for me?"

Pen rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Yes. I wanted to make dinner for you. Is that a crime? You gonna arrest me?"

"Well… I was thinking that we could do something else with my handcuffs but… if you really want me to arrest you…"

Holy God. Had he just insinuated…? Damn, when did it get so hot in her kitchen? She felt like she was burning up.

Steve smirked and just continued eating his pasta like he hadn't said anything but report the rest of the week's weather. Pen pulled at the collar of her blouse in order to alleviate some of the heat that was suddenly radiating off of her body. Oh boy… it had been awhile since she had even _thought_ about… well… you know. Why was she calling it "you know?" Was she in the seventh grade?

Pen watched Steve as he ate. Just watched him. He had a great profile with ridiculous long eyelashes and a straight nose. Not to mention a strong jaw which Pen could see the muscles contracting as he chewed. Every time he took a bite of pasta, he sighed in contentment, his whole body relaxed and at peace. She liked this side of Steve. Granted, she hadn't really witnessed the intense, cop side of Steve yet, but knowing that he was content in her presence and all around happy, made her happy.

"You want seconds?" She asked him when he finished the last bite of pasta.

"I would love seconds." He smiled at her. She reached for his plate, but he stood and helped himself to the rest of the pasta.

"I got it." He told her. "You're not my servant or anything."

"Ok, I have to admit, although I am all for women 'getting out of the kitchen' to a certain extent, every once in awhile, a girl likes to make sure her man is taken care of."

Wait, what did she just say?

"'Her man'?" Steve asked, curiously. He set down the plate he had just heaped with pasta onto the kitchen table, and turned back to her.

"Did I just say that out loud?" Pen asked. She was freaking out in her head, screaming at herself for letting that slip, but trying to act cool on the outside.

"Actually… yes you did." Steve stepped closer to her, and suddenly the kitchen felt like the size of a shoebox. He slid his arms around her waist and trapped her between his hard body and the counter behind her. Pen swallowed, trying to get a rein on her erratic breathing and pounding heart. Man, it had been way too long since she had been intimate with a man. And being this close to one had never felt like this.

Without warning he attacked her lips with his, fisting his hands into her blouse. Pen absolutely didn't care that she was going to have to iron it to get rid of the wrinkles. This kiss wasn't like any they had shared yet. It was bolder and more passionate. He applied more pressure on her lips and she groaned. Pen's hands found themselves threading into his short hair, which felt soft to the touch.

God his kiss was so intoxicating. It created a fog in her brain where she couldn't think of anything but him and what he was making her feel. His kiss, which he had now taken a step further by sliding his tongue past her lips, was making her feel like she was flying… oh… nope… he was just lifting her onto the kitchen counter.

Steve could not get enough of this woman. Her scent was filling his senses and the heat from her body was radiating into his like a damn microwave or something. Her lips were so soft under his and she tasted so damn good. He had lifted her up onto the counter to get a better angle to her lips, and it only spurred the further crumbling of his resolve. Steve was now situated between Pen's legs, but she still wasn't close enough for him. He dug a hand into her hair (which he preferred curly), and wrapped his other arm around her to bring her closer.

Pen never wanted Steve to stop. Ever. She didn't care if she would die from lack of oxygen, it would be the best death anyone could ever ask for. Any other time, she probably would have been embarrassed with how she was desperately clinging to the man. Pen was a goner. She was currently a puddle of mush on her kitchen counter. Call the cleaning crew, because she was done. Damn this man knew how to work his tongue. He worked it so well, she was hearing freaking bells. _Bells_!

Only… bells didn't normally chime to the tune of the Law and Order theme song. Pen froze and so did Steve when he had regained control of his mental faculties. Pen's eyes shot open, and any other time it probably would be a funny scene to come upon: two people frozen in a lip lock in the woman's kitchen.

"It's my phone." Pen stated the obvious, reluctantly pulling away from the gorgeous man in front of her.

"Ignore it." Steve replied, his voice rough. He kissed her cheek and continued a trail down to her neck where he began sucking lightly on the nape of her neck. Pen could feel her eyes rolling into the back of her head. She never let anyone get near her neck because she was way sensitive about people touching her there, but he… oh boy…

The Law and Order theme song sounded very persistent because it hadn't stopped after thirty seconds.

"I really… I've gotta…" Pen tried, but could only manage small groans.

There was a moment of silence when the phone stopped, but ten seconds later it started going off again. Pen groaned again, but this time _not _in pleasure.

"Seriously… Steve… I should… I should really get that."

Steve heaved a sigh and rested his forehead on her shoulder. He was going to absolutely kill Danny the next time he saw the guy. He was going to make it painful, and he's going to make it look like an accident.

He finally stepped away from her, and Pen had that feeling again of total absence of warmth and safety. She hopped down from the counter and had to steady herself; her legs had turned to absolute jello. Once she had regained sure footing, she crossed over to where she had dropped her messenger bag on the couch, and grabbed her phone. It had started ringing again.

"Hello?" She answered after clearing her throat.

"I need to have a word with you." Danny said, not sounding at all amused or happy; he sounded down right irritated. Pen's heart plummeted.

"Uh… you just had several." She pointed out.

"Don't be funny with me right now, Penelope Anne Harrison."

Oh boy, he had pulled out the full name.

"What's wrong, Daniel Joseph Williams?" Two could play that game.

"Why didn't you tell me what you were doing tonight?" He asked her. That honestly hadn't been the first thing she thought he would say. She honestly thought that she and Steve had been found out.

Besides, what did it matter what she was doing? Didn't Steve say earlier that Danny had given him a lecture on not being controlling? Talk about hypocrite!

"I didn't know it was your business to know what I was doing." Pen replied, matching Danny's irritated tone.

"I think that I would like to know when my best friend in the entire world is going to some idiot guys HOME."

"How do you know this?"

"I just had a lovely phone conversation with Kathryn."

Pen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose under her glasses. She had made Kathryn promise not to tell Danny about her and Steve but there was no conversation about the whole Eric Peterson thing. Now Danny was going to go into uber older brother protective mode. Pen was not in the mood.

**A/N: Yay! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who has added my story to their Story Alerts. You guys are awesome! And, as always, an extra, extra high-five thank you to Gizzi1213 and rice117!**


	13. Chapter 13: Pineapple Pizza & Macaroons

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Thirteen: Pineapple Pizza and Macaroons**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0… if I did… Alex O'Loughlin would have just taken out the trash for me…**

"Before you even start…" Pen said, a warning tone in her voice, letting Danny know she was not to be fucked with right now. "There's no reason, whatsoever, for you to be calling me about this right now. Don't lecture me and be all… self-righteous or whatever you do when you get on a trip like this. You don't have to tell me that Eric Peterson's a creep because I realized this tonight."

"What? How did you realize this? What did he do?" Danny asked.

"Nothing, he just proved to me that he was an idiot. And I asked him what he did for a living and I got my answer. You don't have to worry, Danny, I'm not going to go around him anymore." Pen replied, looking at Steve who was now leaning against the kitchen counter. She wanted to reaffirm this to him as well, and he nodded in understanding.

Danny sighed in relief on the other end of the phone. This was the signal that a major crisis had been averted. There was still one to go though… when it finally came out in the open.

"And also…" Pen spoke again, frustration not having left her voice yet. "I would appreciate it if you _think_ before you call me with something like this again. I love you, really I do, but you need to back the hell off sometimes. I don't care if you feel like, because my brother is thousands of miles away, you have to act as his agent. Just… you've got to let me make my own mistakes sometimes. And you've got to let me learn from them."

There was silence for a beat or two.

"You're right." He heaved a sigh.

"Come again?"

"I said you're right. And I'm sorry. I should know better. I had to give Steve a lecture on controlling earlier today. I suppose I should take my own advice."

Pen really, really hoped that Danny had switched off cop mode because she wondered how easy it would be for him to make any sort of connection between Pen's jaunt to Eric Peterson's house and Steve's foul mood. She looked up at the ceiling and sent silent prayers. Thankfully, if Danny _had_ made a connection, he wasn't letting on.

"It's ok, Danno, really. I know how you are, and I've dealt with it since I don't even know when. This won't be the last time you attempt to yell at me for something I supposedly did wrong."

Danny chuckled.

"Right again, I suppose."

"Now, will you leave me the hell alone?"

"Yes! Geez, how was I supposed to know you wouldn't appreciate a call from your best friend?"

It was Pen's turn to laugh.

"How about lunch tomorrow? I don't remember the last time I spent a good amount of time with you." Pen suggested. "I'll come over to your work this time, and I'll bring pizza for everyone. Sound good?"

"As long as you get pizza from that place on 5th Street, you've got a deal."

"Deal."

Once they had said their goodbyes, Pen threw her phone on the couch and shuffled back into the kitchen. Steve held his arms open for her and she gladly fell into them, leaning her head on his chest.

"He has impeccable timing." Steve commented.

"Yes he does. One of these days, I will probably end up killing him for it."

"Funny. I was thinking the same thing."

Pen could legitimately stay in this position for eternity. Just as long as it was Steve's arms around her, his scent filling her nose, and his body alongside hers. She sighed in contentment.

"So, did I hear something about pizza?" He asked her.

"I promised Danny I would bring pizza for lunch tomorrow, since I haven't really seen him much lately. Plus, I want to meet your other teammates."

Steve smiled. He knew that she was going to like Kono and Chin, and they her.

"Will you bring me one with pineapple?"

Pen angled her head to give him a raised eyebrow.

"I suppose I could. I can't get pineapple for Danny because he would have a fit. I guess I could claim that I wanted to try a pizza with pineapple on it."

How else would she explain how she seemed to know that his partner liked pineapple pizza?

* * *

Pen kicked Steve out a few minutes later, telling him that she would see him tomorrow. He would not let her go though, as he kept kissing her. Finally she had to physically shove him out, and with a laugh shut the door on him.

She was in a much better mood now. The whole controlling issue was smoothed over, and she was on the same page as everyone else with Eric Peterson. He seemed like a nice guy, but for someone who was a _businessman_ he didn't have much knowledge on merchandise.

A crisis with Danny had been averted. Always a good thing. Pen loved the man. He really was like another older brother to her, and the closest family she had within a thousand miles. But damn, she needed to make her own mistakes and learn from them on her own.

The next morning, Pen woke up to a text message that Steve had sent her.

_I can't wait to see you_. Was all it said. Pen had never grinned so widely in her life.

A little bit later, a student actually came up to her at the end of a class to comment on how she liked this Dr. Harrison better than the Dr. Harrison that showed up to work yesterday. Apparently, her boyfriend had been the student that came to discuss the two-page essay. Whoops.

Pen called up a taxi to take her to Danny's favorite pizza joint on 5th Street, where she got a pineapple pie, and Danny's favorite, a meat lover's dream. She returned to the taxi and instructed them to the Honolulu Police Department where Five-0 had their headquarters.

The sergeant that sat at the front desk did not look happy to be there at all. He looked up at Pen with a bored expression, and was nothing but short and impolite to her when getting her information down for the visitor's log. Pen was in too good of a mood to really care. The sergeant gave her a visitor badge, of which she clipped to her blouse, and he instructed her on how to get to the offices of Five-0. She thanked him and gave him her best smile, and followed the directions he had given her.

Pen soon came into the inner sanctum of Five-0. It was a fairly large room with lots of screens. TV screens, touch screens, screens, screens, screens. There were four offices off of this room, all of which were occupied by the members of this awesome task force.

"Dr. Harrison."

Pen smiled to herself at the greeting, and turned towards the voice.

"Commander McGarrett." She shot back.

There stood Steve, arms crossed, an eyebrow slightly cocked, and one side of his mouth quirked looking damn sexy as hell in his usual uniform of cargo pants, combat boots, and a t-shirt. She was beginning to consider this her favorite look on a man. Ok, maybe just on Steve.

"Pen!" Danny greeted, after coming out of his office upon hearing voices.

He came over to take the pizzas from her, and gave her a one armed hug.

"Come on, we've got a conference table in here." He ushered her to another room with a large table and another screen at the end of said table. Danny set the pizzas down and hugged her with both arms this time.

"Sorry, I just feel like I haven't really seen you in awhile. We've only seen each other for work related stuff. I miss you."

Pen smiled and slapped him on the shoulder.

"I can't say I feel the same way." She joked, and he punched her lightly on the arm.

"Let me go get everybody else." He left the room, and not five seconds later, Steve strolled in, hands in the pockets of his pants.

"How has your day been, Dr. Harrison?" He asked her. She reassured him that her day, so far, was fine.

Sitting down at the table, he checked in the pizza boxes until he found the one he wanted. "You did bring me pineapple."

Pen smiled.

"You asked for it. I deliver."

"So… if I asked you for something else… you'd deliver that too?" He asked, his voice doing that thing to her body where it just wants to melt.

"Depends on what it is you want." Pen replied, trying to match the sultry tone he was giving her.

He opened his mouth to retort, but Danny came back with his other two teammates. One was an Asian male, fairly tall and built, with a kind smile. The other was an Asian female, very pretty, also with a kind smile.

"Guys, this is my best friend Penelope Harrison, Pen this is Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua."

"Nice to meet you's" were exchanged, as were smiles and handshakes.

"Thank you for bringing lunch." Chin said. "Haven't had a good pizza in awhile."

"Not a problem. I figured it'd be a good way to butter you guys up." Pen joked.

"What is this?"

Pen looked over at Danny who was shooting the pineapple pizza a dirty look.

"I thought that other people would enjoy that, Daniel." Pen said with her best motherly tone. "The other one I got for you."

Chin and Kono laughed at the display. Danny looked like he had just broken his mother's favorite vase or something.

Everyone sat down and dug in, lapsing into comfortable conversation. Steve sat across from Pen, and she tried not to notice the glances he sent her way. Danny was sitting _right there_, and he had eyes like a friggin' hawk!

"You don't happen to have a cheesecake or anything hiding in your bag do you?" Danny turned to Pen to ask.

"No, sorry."

"She's an incredible baker." Danny said to answer the questioning looks he was getting. "Her cooking… meh… but her baking? Oh man…"

He was embarrassing her. And he was also going into a swooning fit, which made her want to punch him in the face. Her cooking wasn't that bad!

"Cuz loves to bake too." Chin said, cocking his thumb toward Kono. "She makes a mean macaroon recipe."

"Whatever I do, I can never make good macaroons." Pen admitted to Kono, who then began telling her the secrets to the perfect macaroon.

About thirty minutes later, Pen bade her goodbyes. She had really enjoyed talking with Chin and Kono. They were both extremely nice, and Pen could tell they were excellent cops.

"Do you need a ride back to HPU?" Kono asked as they all walked her to the main door of Five-0.

"Nah, I can call a cab, but thanks Kono."

"Oh please." Steve scoffed. "Don't waste your money. _I'll_ take you back." And he disappeared into his office to grab his keys.

"Woah, woah, wait a second. Who gave you the right?" Danny yelled after him. Steve was already heading back to the group, swinging the keys on his finger.

"What?" Steve asked, looking confused.

"Why are _you_ taking her back? She's _my_ friend!"

Pen sighed. She could feel the headache coming on.

"I was just being nice. Besides, I thought you were working on something." Steve pointed out.

Danny grimaced because he knew his partner was right. They had gotten another case earlier that day about a string of robberies, and Danny had been given the fun task of sifting through witness statements.

"Do you think Steve's going to kidnap Pen?" Chin asked Danny, jokingly.

"You never know. We don't know what his specialty in the SEALs was. It could have been making people disappear."

"You're ridiculous, Danno." Pen said. "Thank you, Commander McGarrett, but it's fine. I can make my own way back."

"But—"

"Seriously." Pen said firmly, shooting down the protest that started from Steve.

"It was great to meet you guys! Kono, we have a date with macaroons, right?"

With the promise of a macaroon lesson and good wishes for Danny to have a good date tomorrow with Kathryn, Pen was out the door. She was going to be late for her next class, which she imagined her students wouldn't have a problem with.

As she was turning in her visitor badge, she judged the distance between there and HPU. Eh, she could walk it. It was a beautiful day, and she could use the exercise.

"Prudence?"

Pen knew that was not her name, but she couldn't help but stop to see who the feminine voice belonged too. To Pen's dismay, it was that blonde cop… what's her name? Izzy?

"It's Penelope." She corrected.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I'm no good with names." She said, with a laugh. She looked ridiculously good-looking today. A flattering pants suit with a fitted button up blouse showed off her lean figure. It was a sin, really, to look that perfect. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves, and it shone in the early afternoon sun. They were standing by a statue of King Kamehameha where the blonde had stopped her.

"Were you visiting Steve?" She asked her, acting all polite.

"Sort of. I actually came to meet the rest of the team. I promised Danny to bring him some pizza for lunch today."

"Oh! You know Danny?"

"Yeah, he's practically family, actually."

"Wow, I had no idea! That's so cool!"

Pen knew Izzy didn't really think it was cool.

"Well, I need to get back to work. Nice to see you again." Pen said. Lie.

"Right, I should get back in there as well. Goodbye." The blonde gave her a cheery wave, and did that bouncing thing again, all the way into PD. Pen rolled her eyes. What a ditz.

Pen didn't make it far down the street before a familiar blue pickup truck rode up next to her.

"Will you get in the truck, please?" Steve shouted out to her through the open window. He had pulled into a parking space near where she was walking on the sidewalk.

"Sorry, my mom told me never to get in a strange car with a strange man. If you don't leave me alone, I'll be forced to call the cops. I know a few personally."

Steve smiled.

"Just get in the truck, woman."

Pen laughed this time. The way he said "woman" was funny. She hopped up into the truck and Steve zoomed down the street.

"Does Danny know that you came looking for me?" She asked him.

"No, I told him that I needed to get batteries for my night vision goggles. He bought it."

Pen shook her head.

"Why didn't you tell me you could bake?" He asked her.

"It never really came up."

"Will you bake me something?"

"Sure." She shrugged. "What would you like?"

"I don't know. But cheesecake sounded really good when Danny suggested it." Steve said.

"I think I can handle that. I make a really good chocolate and peanut butter one. It's a Hershey's recipe."

"That sounds really delicious." He replied.

"It's a deal, then!"

Too soon, Steve pulled up in front of her office building. He leaned across the center console and placed an innocent kiss on her lips. Pen climbed out of the truck and turned back around to the open window.

"Thanks for the ride, Commander McGarrett." Pen said, coyly.

"Anytime, Dr. Harrison. Will I get to see you tonight?"

"I wish, but Rachel's invited me over to have dinner with her, Gracie, and Step-Stan. It's a monthly thing we do." Pen replied.

"You're killing me here, sweetheart."

Pen blushed at the term of endearment. After (reluctantly) biding him another goodbye, she disappeared into her office building.

* * *

Jin Lo Ming was the only calm person within a five-mile radius. All of his lackeys were shaking so much with nerves, that he was convinced they were going to drop some of the product. It was late, or rather early morning, and no one was around except for himself and his eight employees.

Jin had gotten the call earlier this morning instructing him on the best time to make the pick up, and what cargo container the goods were in. He assured his "boss" that everything would go off without a hitch this time, and he'd be damned if he went back on his word.

"Careful with that, you idiot." He hissed at a green looking younger male. He barely looked old enough to drink. The poor guy was trying to heft some vase or whatnot, and he almost dropped it on the concrete ground beneath them. He looked apologetic, regained his hold on the object, and carefully loaded it into the back of the truck they used for transportation.

Jin took a quick look into the container to see that they were almost done. That was good. He glanced at his watch and saw that he was almost out of time. The uniformed police officer that had been driving by once every hour was due for another round, and the "boss" had ordered no more collateral damage like the security guard, if he could help it. At the same time, he was also ordered to move the product using whatever means necessary. Things were such shades of gray sometimes.

"That's the last of it." Said the same young man he had yelled at a few minutes earlier.

"Excellent. Everyone mount up. We've got to get this stuff to the warehouse and unloaded before 0500. Wouldn't want the "boss" to get angry again." Jin said the last part sarcastically.

The majority of the men got into the back of the truck, but Jin climbed up into the passenger seat. He breathed a sigh of relief when they hit the highway, and added a scathing comment to the driver to stop driving so roughly, lest the precious cargo be damaged.

All Jin could think of was the pay off. He couldn't wait for that wonderful check to come in. Then, he planned on retiring. No more dealings with the "boss" and no more smuggling anything. He had a plot of land picked out on the island of Lanai, a place far out of the reach of civilization. He couldn't wait for the peace and quiet that would come with the move. Maybe he would even buy one of the products. There were a few artifacts from ancient China back there, he had noticed. Parts of his own cultural heritage. All this work wouldn't be a complete waste of time.

* * *

At 0700, Steve walked into his office, a spring in his step. Why was there a spring in his step? Kimo Makani had yet to call them with some information, and it was Friday, the end of the week, Makani's dead line. Steve was ready and raring to give the guy a little squeeze. Ok, maybe a big squeeze, he was in just that good of a mood. Unfortunately, the mood didn't last long. The phone on his desk rang.

"McGarrett."

"Hi, this is Kimo Makani. I promise I remembered what I'm supposed to be doing."

"What do you have for me?"

"Well, I don't… I don't really have anything…"

Steve felt his hand unconsciously fisting, as if he was imagining crushing this guy's skull.

"But… but…" Makani spoke again, desperation in his tone. "I am _really _close to finding out some information. I know a guy who knows a guy that may know something. I need a couple more days."

"I gave you until today." Steve stated in an eerily calm tone.

"I know, I know sir, but I swear, I really do want to help you. Really do! I'm trying to go straight, and I figured this is a good place to start. I promise, the _minute_ I have something, I will call you."

Steve sighed. It's a good thing he suddenly felt in a gracious mood. Otherwise he would be out the door right now, gun ready at his hip. He was thinking about Pen, that's probably why he felt in a civil state of being. Granted, he was thinking about Pen a lot lately. But, anyway…

"All right, if I don't have anything Monday, Kimo, I'm coming for you." And then Steve hung up on the poor guy.

"Was that our lovely, new friend?" Danny asked, poking his head into Steve's office.

"Yeah, he's got nothing. But he claims that he's close to finding something out."

"Hey, an eventual something is better than nothing right now." Danny philosophized.

"Hey guys." Kono greeted as she rushed into Five-0 heading straight to Steve's office.

"What's up, Kono?" Steve asked, as he motioned her in. Chin came trailing in as well.

"An HPD unit has been doing rounds around Oahu Shipping Company after the death of our friend, Bud. You know, as an extra security precaution that apparently our _best_ friend Mr. Peterson requested."

"Yeah, ok?" Steve prodded.

"Early this morning, around 0430, he made another round, and saw that the gate was unlocked, which it hadn't been an hour before, and no one was scheduled to be in the compound."

"That's great, Kono. Grab your gear, we're heading out to Oahu Shipping." Steve said, everyone scattered to grab their stuff, and they rendezvoused back at their vehicles, and took off. Steve was hoping that they'd find _something_ this time around.

* * *

"I'm nervous. I'm actually freakin' nervous!" Kathryn declared, bursting into Pen's office.

"Why are you nervous?" Pen asked. She honestly wasn't interested in why Kathryn was nervous, she just asked as a matter of friend protocol.

"About the date tonight! Have you _looked_ at Danny lately?"

"Um… yes. I saw him yesterday at lunch." Pen replied, leaning back in her chair.

"He's _hot_. And soooo funny! Gosh Pen, I've never met anyone like him!" Kathryn was getting the dreamy voice again. Pen was expecting her to put a hand to her forehead and go into a swoon or something.

"That's nice." Pen answered sarcastically.

"You've gotta tell me how to prepare! What do I wear? What do I say?" Pen shook her head at the ridiculousness. Kathryn was actually scared.

"Kathryn, relax please. Just be yourself, wear whatever you want to wear, and he's going to love you."

Ok, Pen didn't mean for that "love you" part to come out, but it was true. If there was one thing Danny liked about a woman, was a genuine, real woman. Kathryn sighed.

"I can't calm down."

"He's not going to take you to a sports bar. He's classier than that. So don't be way casual. He's not going to take you to a five-star restaurant because, one, he can't afford it, and, two, it's not his style, so don't wear anything too fancy."

"Ok, that solves what to wear…" Kathryn said, now on to wringing her hands. Pen couldn't help but laugh to herself. Then she stopped. God, she shouldn't laugh at Kathryn, especially if she acted this way about Steve.

"I'm sorry, again, about telling Danny about the whole Eric Peterson thing."

"Don't be. I took care of him." Pen laughed.

"I _almost_ spilled the beans about you and Steve, too. You better tell him soon or I'm going to let something slip."

Pen's heart skipped at the very thought. Danny would freak out. But, at the same time, the longer it goes on, the more pissed off he's going to be. Soon, Pen decided, soon Danny will know.

**A/N: Woot! Next chapter: the brunch. I know it's a little ways off in the timeline I've got going here, but the next chapter just may have to be twenty pages long or something. I'm GOING to get to it! **

**Thank you, thank you, thank you, grazie, to my reviewers! I LOVE YOU ALL! *****hands out cookies***** And, a HUGE, HUGE THANK YOU to rice117 and Gizzi1213, you guys are seriously the bestest!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Brunch From Hell

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Fourteen: The Brunch From Hell**

**Disclaimer: Once again, say it with me, I do not own Hawaii Five-0. If I did… I would have Alex O'Loughlin go on a "covert op" with me. ;) As per the episode: **_**Ko'olauloa**_**.**

**A/N: Ok, so, I hate to bother people with these annoying author's notes, but, I just wanted to share how STOKED I am that Verizon is going to get the iPhone in February! I REALLY, REALLY want one now! GAH! Ok… I'm done now.**

**So, this chapter is longer than usual because, as evidenced by the title, it includes the pivotal brunch scene. I couldn't end it on a cliffhanger. I could never do that to you guys, so I squeezed it in one chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

Employees were hard at work at Oahu Shipping Company when Five-0 arrived on scene. There was a police cruiser waiting for them at the front gate, and when they approached, the officer got out to greet them.

"Officer Lin?" Kono asked him. He was a young Asian male, cute, with a brilliant smile, which he had no qualms in flashing at Kono. Danny noticed the exchange and could see Kono's cheeks flush.

"I'm Kono Kalakaua with Five-0, and these are my teammates. Would you tell us again about your early morning rounds?" Kono had tried to put on her business voice, but she could not help but admire the man in front of her.

"As you may know…" Officer Lin began, all professional. "… the department was contacted by the owner to keep an eye on the place while they were in the process of hiring a new security guard. The surrounding areas are my patrol zone, so, naturally it got added to my beat. About every hour I do a drive by, just to scope over the place a little. My patrol sergeant told me to not go out of my way too much. I did a round at about 0300, all was well. The gate was padlocked and secure as it had been when I checked it the previous hour. I had a domestic disturbance call, so I didn't get a chance to come back until about 0430, and the gate had been unlocked. Unlocked, and no signs of forced entry."

"Did you go in and look around at all?" Chin asked him.

"I did a brief sweep around the front offices but didn't see anything unusual. If there had been foul play here, it probably happened further back where the shipping containers are. I called it in to Central, and they said they would inform you guys when you got into work."

"Thank you, Officer Lin." Kono said. "You're probably due to end your shift. We don't want to keep you any longer."

Officer Lin shot Kono a flirtatious grin.

"It's no problem Officer Kalakaua. I don't have anyone to go home to."

That was clearly a way of telling Kono he was single. Danny clamped his mouth shut tightly, just in case he let out what he was thinking. Pen would have been very proud of him for his self-control. Danny glanced at Steve, and the SEAL looked like he was trying to hold a comment in. Chin just looked like he wanted to punch poor Office Lin in the face.

Officer Lin returned to his cruiser and took off back to his precinct to mark off his shift. He had had a long night, and he hoped that he wouldn't have to continue making the rounds around Oahu Shipping. The place gave him the creeps; it just didn't feel right to him.

"Well…" Danny said, not able to hold it in much longer. Office Lin's cruiser had just disappeared from sight, and he figured it would be ok to make a comment now. "He was really friendly."

Steve let out a burst of laughter, but stopped immediately at the withering look Kono gave them.

"Too friendly." Chin muttered.

The four coworkers then made their way onto Oahu Shipping property, first going to the office to let the administrative staff know that they were conducting an investigation of suspicious activity. No one seemed to protest, so they began their search. They decided to split up, Danny and Steve, Kono and Chin, and to call the group if they had anything important to report.

"You sure you want to come to brunch tomorrow?" Danny asked as he scanned the ground of the area they were currently searching. Danny had declared he would look low if Steve looked high, and had also mumbled something about giants, but Steve wasn't sure.

"Of course," Steve said, scoping out the surface area and locks of the containers for any signs of foul play. "Grace wants me there right? She specifically asked for me to come. I can't deny her that request."

"Ok, just prepare to deal with her godmother then." Danny said. Steve would have started laughing right then, but he maintained his composure.

"I think I can handle her just fine." Steve said, trying to hide his smirk.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Danny replied.

"Did I hear you telling Kono earlier that you had a date tonight?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I do actually. A friend of Pen's."

"And is she shorter than you?" Steve inquired, needing to take some needle at his partner since it clearly seemed like Danno didn't want him at brunch.

"Not that it's any of your damn business, but yes, she is actually shorter than me. Thanks so much." Danny replied, the heat of anger rising in his voice.

Steve's phone rang then, saving anyone from being punched in the face. It turned out to be Kono.

"We found something, boss." She reported, and gave him the section of the shipping yard they were in.

In no time, Steve and Danny were there. Chin and Kono stood in front of a shipping container that had clearly been tampered with. The lock had been broken and whatever the contents were had been taken out.

"Again with the empty containers." Danny commented.

Steve opened the doors wider and took a good look inside. The sun was at the right angle in the sky to give him a good light source. On the surface, nothing looked out of the ordinary, but this time, Steve wanted this whole container processed for prints, DNA, dirt, shoe prints, whatever could give them an angle. He started giving out instructions, telling Kono to call in the CSI team, telling Chin to get the papers on this container, and telling Danny to give the surrounding area a once over to see if there was anything else that could be of help.

Steve had a good feeling this time. Whoever was orchestrating this operation was starting to get sloppy, the unlocked gate, the broken lock. Someone had to have let a fingerprint slip somewhere… even better a someone with priors.

* * *

The CSI team got there rather quickly and began processing the scene immediately. Five-0 stood on the sidelines, letting them do their work, and going over the papers for the container.

"Wine from Italy? That's what's supposed to be in this container?" Steve asked, making sure he was getting the right information from Chin who held a copy of the papers.

"According to this shipping manifest, yes. Wine from a place in Southern Italy. Looks like fairly decent priced stuff; probably sold in a non-chain supermarket somewhere on the island. How much you want to bet someone isn't going to be happy their wine isn't being sold?" Chin asked.

Danny scoffed. He recalled the first conversation with Eric Peterson, about the guy in Greece's olives. Someone, again, was losing a profit, or were they really? Had wine _really_ been in this container? Or something far older and more vintage?

Dave Monroe sidled up to the group, wearing covers over his shoes, a mask, and a plastic jumpsuit. He had just come from inside the container, and he looked happy.

"Please tell me you've got something?" Steve asked almost desperately.

"Oh yeah, boss man. Got me a hand print." Dave replied.

"A whole hand print?" Kono asked the man. He just grinned and nodded at her.

"Oh yeah. Totally clean, no smudging or anything. It was almost like the guy had used the side of the container to keep him from falling or something. We're almost done with the inside of the container and then we'll work on the outside. My guess is, AVIS will be more than happy to tell you something on Monday when it's done searching its database."

Steve sighed with relief. Dave seemed confident, that was enough for him. All Steve could hope for was that the guy who had left behind the handprint had been a bad boy at one point in his life. If so, then Five-0 had nailed a suspect. The weekend was looking like it was dawning bright and cheerful.

* * *

Today had probably been the best Friday on record for Danny. They had gotten (hopefully) a break in this damn case they were working on, and a potential suspect to arrest when they got the results from the fingerprints back.

It was now time for the weekend, more pressingly time for his date with Kathryn. He had just enough time to finish up with some paperwork in his office, get back to his apartment to shower and change, and pick up his lovely date. And hell, she was lovely. Kathryn wasn't like anyone he had ever met before, not even Rachel, and there was that crazy instant attraction. He hoped that whatever it was between them was way more than physical attraction.

He dotted the last "I's" of his name after putting his John Hancock on a report, and began gathering his stuff to get home. On his way out, he noticed that Steve was still in his office, working away on something or another.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Kakahiaka Diner. 10 a.m." Danny said, as a reminder.

"I will be there." Steve replied. "Have fun on your date tonight!"

"Yeah, yeah."

There really wasn't much activity going on in the halls as Danny made his way out to the parking lot to get his car. A few police officers here and there were talking to each other or hurrying back to the their cruiser. The hallways were so not crowded; Danny would later question why it was that Detective Isabelle St. John ran into him, literally, when there was really no one around.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry, Danny." She apologized. He helped her pick up some files she had dropped in the collision, and told her that there was no harm done.

"Are you off to see your friend, Penelope?" Izzy asked him.

Danny was taken aback. How did she know about Pen? Had they met somehow when Pen was here the other day?

"Um… no, I'm not actually. I've got other plans." He replied.

"Oh, I see. What's Steve up to? Is he going out with Penelope?" Izzy asked, looking genuinely quizzical.

Danny was so utterly and completely shocked at the question that he had to keep repeating it over and over in his mind to understand it. Why in the hell would Steve and Pen be going out somewhere? Why in the hell would Steve and Pen be together in the same room let alone going out somewhere?

"Not that I know of." Danny replied, thoroughly confused. "I've gotta go, but I'll see you later."

His mind was racing as he walked out to his Camaro. Pen would've told him if she was seeing someone, let alone his damn partner. Danny wouldn't expect for Steve to tell him a damn thing about his personal life, but shit! Had Steve been making moves on his best friend without him even knowing about it? Dammit. Danny decided, as he walked into his apartment, that he was going to observe them at brunch in the morning, and go from there. He surely hoped that two of the people in his life that he was the closest too, were not lying to him.

* * *

"… and so Dave thinks that we could get a match off the hand print." Steve concluded, having told Pen the story of what had happened at work. He was currently lounging in his father's favorite recliner, the football game on the television set to mute.

Pen was also in a similarly comfortable position. She was using her back pillow to sit up in bed, papers spread out all around her, a red pen stuck behind her ear.

"That's so great to hear!" She exclaimed. "I really hope this new development yields something for you guys. I want these bastards caught probably as much as you do."

"I meant what I said the other day, you know. That I would arrest all parties involved for you."

"That would be the sweetest gift anyone has ever given me." Pen joked, but at the same time was half serious. The thought of these horrible people mishandling such treasured objects… it was unfathomable.

"I'm looking forward to brunch tomorrow. I'm getting the impression that Danny doesn't want me there, though." Steve said.

"He would." Pen scoffed. "He doesn't know yet that he actually likes you, despite all the complaining and bitching he does. He has yet to realize that you both truly make a good partnership _and_ that you aren't as bad as he thinks you are."

Steve chuckled, and Pen realized again how much she enjoyed the sound.

"You know, this is going a lot better than our previous phone conversation." Steve pointed out.

"Don't jinx it. We haven't hung up yet." Pen replied.

"This is true. What can I say to sound like a major jerk and piss you off?" He asked, jokingly.

"Well… you could say something like… you love the Red Sox. I would have to end it right then, just to warn you."

Steve laughed.

"Must be a Yankee fan then."

"Of course! I bleed pinstripe blue, hon!" Pen cried out.

"I've never been a huge baseball fan, so, you won't have to worry about me smack talking your team. I played football in high school."

"Oh boy, you're one of _those_ guys."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let me guess… you were the quarterback?"

"Yeah, so?"

"And you probably broke all kinds of records and dated the head cheerleader, right?"

"Yes on all counts, except she wasn't the head cheerleader." Steve replied. She could almost hear the smile in his voice.

"You know who I was in high school? I was the cool nerd that sat in the stands with her friends and made fun of you jocks and cheerleaders."

Steve burst out laughing.

"What the hell is a cool nerd?"

"A cool nerd is someone who is a nerd, but still has social skills."

This made Steve laugh harder.

"I always had a bit of a crush on this one girl that was in my advanced Biology class. She really wore her coke bottles."

"Now you're being a _real_ jerk. That may constitute a hang up." Pen warned.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry!" Steve said apologetically. "But I'm actually telling the truth. Her name was Sandra."

Pen shook her head despite the fact that he couldn't see her. All of a sudden, she _really_ didn't want to talk about other women with him. _Especially_ since she knew he had dated some cheerleader in high school.

"Did you hang up on me?" He asked her.

"No, I was just silent is all."

"Good. I don't want to make you mad, sweetheart."

There he went calling her a nickname again. She hadn't ever really like to be called "sweetheart" or "honey" or anything else of the sort by her previous boyfriends, but with Steve, it was different. Hell, with Steve, _everything_ was different.

"What are you doing right now?" he asked her, trying to get off away from the previous conversation.

"I'm sitting in bed grading papers." She told him, as she placed a grade at the bottom of the last page of the essay she was on.

"You're in bed?" He asked, taking on that sultry tone. It made the hot flashes come back again, but it also made her laugh. She didn't think she could quite go _there_ yet with him.

"Don't you even think about it, or I really will hang up on you!" She joked.

"Damn! You're no fun at all."

"No, I'm not, and I think that I may call it quits for the night. I'll see you in the morning?"

"I will be there." He replied, his voice dropping in volume, taking on a more intimate tone. "I can't wait to see you."

Pen grinned widely.

"I can't wait to see you too." She said, matching his voice.

* * *

The boss had been pleased with Jin's efficiency in the transportation and delivering of the product. Right, because that's Jin's goal in life… to _please_ the "boss." Jin took a draw from his tumbler of scotch, and shook his head. He was done with this whole thing. He was just done. He didn't want to be answering to that blithering idiot anymore. In the old days, he probably would've gotten rid of the guy and taken over this venture, but he was getting too old for this shit.

He decided right then, back in his condo over looking the ocean, that the next time that twit called, he was going to tell him no, and to find someone else. Yeah… that's what he was going to do. What could the guy do? He wouldn't even get his hands dirty even a little bit. So, he makes someone like Jin do all the grunt work. Well, no more. No more.

* * *

If Pen was given the option to go back in time, she would have convinced her past self (_Back to the Future _rules of time travel be damned) to have called Danny to say she had come down with leprosy and therefore could not have shown up for this brunch. If only she had known how it was all going to go down, how it was going to completely spiral out into chaos realm.

She was the first one to arrive at the diner. The weather was beautiful, maybe a little overcast, but the right temperature for Pen. She wore a pair of jeans, her black Chucks, and a Hawaii Pacific University sweatshirt over one of her favorite t-shirts. She stood outside and watched all the people milling about the street. People watching was one of her favorite activities, after all.

"Aunt Pen!" Shouted that lovely angelic voice that could also be diabolical.

Pen turned to see Danny and Grace walking towards her from the direction of the parking garage a couple blocks down. Pen smiled widely and kneeled down to receive Grace into her arms. She had just seen her last night when she had dinner with Rachel, Grace and Step Stan, but she could never get enough of her little goddaughter.

"Morning, Pen!" Danny greeted. He hugged her with his usual finesse and meaning behind it.

"Morning, Danny." Pen replied. "How was the date?"

Danny grinned widely.

"I'll tell you more later." He promised.

"Uncle Stevie!" Grace suddenly shouted and took off like a shot down the sidewalk. Pen looked around to where she was heading and her mouth dropped open. It was Steve all right, and it was the Steve she had seen when he had invited her to his house. The really casual, beach boy Steve. He was wearing black board shorts this time around, that showed off his powerful leg muscles and his very well shaped gluteus maximus. He wore a white t-shirt, which Michael Jordan would have been jealous of how good Steve looked in it. His biceps were prominent and his chest looked wide and well sculpted. Pen, not so smoothly, wiped her hand across her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling. He actually wore sneakers too. Sneakers! Not combat boots, not his dress uniform shoes, but _sneakers_. And finally, his normally compelling eyes were hidden behind Oakley shades, which, in Pen's opinion, completed the badass look. Steve had picked Grace up and held her in his arms, the young girl talking a mile a minute. He just smiled and nodded at her, taking it all in as he walked over to Danny and Pen.

"Morning all." He greeted, looking to Danny and then to Pen. His gaze stayed a little longer on her, before he looked back to Grace who had started talking again about one of her friends at school. Pen's heart swelled at the scene before her. Steve was paying close attention to Grace; giving her all of his consideration. He had hugged her, and he was holding her tightly to him like he was protecting her. It was the sweetest thing Pen had ever seen in her life. There was something about battle-hardened warriors succumbing to the whims of little kids that just melted Pen's heart.

"Shall we?" Danny asked, making a sweeping motion towards the door to the diner. A weird shadow had passed over his face, and he didn't look as happy as he had not two minutes ago. He filed in after everyone, and they ended up with their usual booth in the corner.

"Uncle Stevie, will you sit next to me, please?" Grace asked, utilizing the doe eyes to really reel him in.

"Monkey, you don't want to sit next to me?" Danny asked, acting hurt.

"Danno, I hardly get to see Uncle Stevie." Grace stated very matter-of-factly.

"Well, I guess it's you and me, Penelope." Danny said, waiting for her to slide into their side of the booth first. What the hell was going on? He had just called her Penelope. He never did that. Pen now sat across from Grace, and Steve looked completely comfortable next to her, as the young girl continued updating Steve about her life.

"Well if it isn't my favorite group!" Greeted Doris, their usual waitress. She had been missing last week, but it was good to see her again. "And you have someone new!"

She was the ultimate mother figure. She was short, plump, with such a kind way about her, and would never refuse you anything.

"The usual orange juice to start with?" She asked. Danny and Pen nodded. "And you, young man?" She said to Steve.

"Orange juice is fine with me." He said, giving her his best smile. Doris blushed and bustled off. They looked at their menus in silence (Pen would swear it was an awkward silence) until Doris came back with their orange juice and chocolate milk for Grace (she always brought it as her own way of spoiling the kid).

"What can I get you guys to eat?" She asked, pen poised over her order pad.

Grace, ever the polite eight-year-old, asked for her usual order: a Belgian waffle with strawberries on top and a side of bacon. Danny and Pen also asked for their usual which was just pancakes and bacon. He liked chocolate chip pancakes, and Pen went for the traditional buttermilk.

"And what can I get you, handsome?" Doris asked Steve with a smile.

"Could I please have two eggs over easy, a short stack of buttermilk pancakes, bacon and sausage, hash browns, and a side of toast?"

Pen was wondering where Steve was going to put all of that. It wasn't fair that he could eat so much and yet stay his usual trim self. Danny shook his head, and Grace looked impressed at the amount of food he was going to get.

"What kind of toast would you like? We've got white, wheat, rye, and sourdough."

"Wheat, please and thank you." He said, handing over his menu to her.

"It'll be up in a few minutes!" Doris said, and shuffled away to place the order in the kitchen to her husband, James, one of the cooks.

"Daddy have you told Aunt Pen about your date last night?" Grace asked her father.

"Not yet, monkey." He told her.

"I'm curious as well." Steve said, leaning his elbows on the table.

"I think it went really well." Danny said.

"It went 'well'? That's all you're going to say?" Steve coaxed.

"We went out to eat, talked… laughed… laughed a lot actually." Danny said, smiling fondly at the memory of Kathryn's beautiful face lit up with laughter. "Then, we walked along the beach for a while."

"Wait… _you_ walked on the beach?" Pen asked him.

"Yeah, she convinced me too. I claim a moment of insanity."

There was a slight pause before Danny picked the conversation back up.

"You know, Steve, I was thinking about it this morning. I have a Kathryn now too, I found that kind of funny."

Pen's heart skipped a beat. He had a Kathryn now _too_. What did _that_ mean? Steve had a Kathryn? Or maybe a Catherine? Or maybe a Katherine?

As soon as what Danny said registered in Steve's mind, his eyeballs shot to Pen to see her reaction. Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly. She _clearly_ was not pleased.

"Catherine?" Steve said, and even to him his voice croaked in nervousness. Shit, this was all he needed, Pen to find out about his shore leave hook up buddy. He hadn't talked to Catherine in a couple of months. He had actually heard that she had found some Captain that she was getting serious with. Steve was happy for her. He was especially happy for her now that he had Pen, and the next time he did talk to Catherine, it wouldn't be awkward. Steve and Catherine both had never expected their "relationship" to go further than what it was: the occasional dinner and a roll in the sheets.

"Yeah, Catherine, your Navy intelligence girl. I assume that she was the one you ticked off the other day." Danny said, this weird smile on his face.

Pen suddenly felt out of control. She saw the whole situation spiraling, and she wasn't sure how or why or where it was spiraling too. Drowning. That's what she suddenly felt… like she was drowning. Pen was getting a first hand lesson of Steve's past lovers, and on top of that, Pen had this weird feeling Danny was doing it on purpose. But she didn't know why he would be doing it on purpose. Yep, there was that drowning feeling again… the feeling of helplessness. Even Grace, who sat across from her, looked unhappy and out of sorts.

"Oh, yeah." Steve said, looking very uncomfortable, which was very un-Steve like. "Of course. She liked the flowers by the way."

Pen knew that Steve was covering for them, but the lie was bothering her. She was feeling that green little monster inside her rearing up… that jealous part of her. She began speculating wildly about who this Catherine was. Was she tall? Was she a blonde, or a brunette, or a red head? How much more attractive was she than Pen? How much did Steve like this woman? Did he still like her even though he was with Pen? Was he really _with_ Pen? They had yet to really define what it was between them, and here she went again, doubting the whole thing. The water level was getting higher, and Pen, for the life of her, could not remember how to work her arms and legs to swim.

"I'm glad." Danny continued. "She was really nice that one time we had to ask her to have that crazy SEAL's wife's diary translated. You must be seeing her a lot more than usual lately. You've had a weird spring in your step for the past week."

Pen felt sick. She could only seem to focus on the table in front of her. She didn't want to hear Steve's response. No, no she didn't.

"Uncle Stevie, how many bad guys have you caught lately?" Came that blessed voice from across the table. Pen had never been so happy for a subject change. Steve heaved a sigh, hiding the relief behind it, and turned his attention to Grace.

"I've caught a few." He answered her. "But your dad and I are working on a really big case right now. Once we figure it all out, we'll have caught even _more_ bad guys."

"That's so cool!" Grace breathed.

"Danny, could you let me out?" Pen asked him.

"Sure." He said, sliding out of the booth to let her out. Without looking back, she hurried to the bathroom. It was a single stall bathroom, which was good because Pen needed a little bit of privacy at the moment. This brunch had quickly turned into the brunch from hell. She never pegged herself as a jealous person, but at the mention of some woman that Steve had been seeing recently, the monster reared its ugly head. Pen slid the lock of the door home, went to the sink to splash some water on her face. She dared to look at herself in the mirror. What she saw did not look like Pen Harrison. Pen was pretty fair skinned, but she looked sheet white, like she had seen a ghost. Worry lines on her face that hadn't been there before were showing up now, and her normally happy eyes looked dull. Christ, why was she having such a violent, allergic reaction to jealousy? She was being pathetic! A wave of nausea hit her, and she gripped the side of the sink.

A knock came at the door, followed by the soft voice of poor little Gracie.

"Aunt Pen are you ok? Daddy wanted me to check on you."

Pen gathered herself up, plastered a fake smile on her face, unlocked the door and swung it wide.

"I'm perfectly fine, Gracie. Must not have gotten enough sleep last night."

"Are you ready to come back now? Ms. Doris brought our food." Grace asked.

"Of course, hon." And with that, Grace gently grabbed Pen's hand with her little one, and guided her back to the table. Danny slid out to allow Pen to sit back down, and as Steve was standing to let Grace into the booth, she dared a glance at him. He was looking at her with barely concealed concern. He wasn't even trying to hide it, but he was hiding how _much_ he was concerned.

"You alright, Pen?" He asked her.

"Fine, Steve." Pen answered shortly. "Thanks."

She picked up her fork, and started eating. The food tasted like ash, and the orange juice tasted like rancid water. The feeling was getting worse all because Pen had come to a conclusion whilst in the bathroom: Danny knew. She didn't know how he knew, but she knew he knew. He _has_ to, because he wouldn't be so callous right now if he hadn't. He mentioned this Catherine person on purpose. That much Pen knew, and she also knew that he was just waiting for something to truly confirm his suspicions. She knew her best friend like the back of her hand, knew how his mind worked. He was a detective after all. He was going to use his observation and deduction skills to find out the truth. Pen suddenly felt like she was sitting in an interrogation room where the detective was trying to entrap her into confessing something she wasn't necessarily guilty of. She couldn't eat anymore, but for appearances sake, she kept going.

Grace started talking to Steve again, this time telling him about the tennis lessons she was getting.

"Can I tell you a secret, Uncle Stevie?" She whispered to him. He leaned toward her so he'd be able to hear the secret.

"What is it?" He whispered back.

"I really don't like tennis."

Steve chuckled.

"I don't like tennis either, kiddo."

"I want Danno to teach me how to play baseball!" Grace announced to the table, beaming at her father.

"You bet, monkey. I will be more than happy to teach you the beautiful sport of baseball." Danny told her.

"Aunt Pen is teaching me how to follow hockey, too." Grace said, this time directing her little cute smile at Pen. It was that right there that made Pen feel less sick.

"Yeah, but not the New Jersey Devils." Danny scoffed.

"I like the Caps, daddy! Ovechkin is cute!" Grace declared. Pen's mind was pleasantly distracted by this new topic. She loved hockey, especially the Washington Capitals. Although, she could think of more attractive players in the NHL than Alex Ovechkin with his missing front tooth. For example, Zach Parise, a New Jersey Devil.

"I'll forgive you for that one, Grace." Danny said, shooting his girl a mock disgusted look.

Pen thought she was in the clear. The check came awhile later, and with the reflexes of a cat, Steve snatched it up.

"I'm paying." He stated simply as Pen and Danny had matching looks of disbelief. The piece of paper hadn't even touched the table and he had grabbed it. How did he do that?

The fresh air helped with Pen's nausea as the four stepped out into the glorious weather.

"Hey Uncle Stevie?" Grace whispered to him so that neither her dad nor her Aunt Pen, both of whom were talking in depth about his date last night, could hear her.

"What's up, Grace?" He asked, kneeling down to be at eye level with her.

"Are you going to marry Aunt Pen?" She asked him. Steve was surprised, and somewhat embarrassed by the question.

"I don't know, hon." Steve decided to go with. "We haven't even started calling ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend."

Grace looked disappointed.

"Monkey." Came her dad's voice, interrupting the conversation. Grace turned around, and Danny held out a dollar's worth of quarters for her. "Why don't you go play on the little horse thing over there for a few minutes." He was referring to those mini rides that were usually in malls and such. Grace happily took the quarters and went to play on the horse.

Pen suddenly felt afraid again. The one thing that could act as a subject changer was now twenty feet away playing on a mechanical horse.

"So, I heard the damndest thing yesterday." Danny began. He stood there casually, his hands in his pockets.

"What's that?" She asked him. "That there's a sale on ties at Macy's?" There was that weird look again. This could not be good.

"I heard that you've been lying to me."

And there it was.

"What?"

"Don't even try to act like you don't know what I'm talking about, Penelope." Danny said. Pen had never heard such malice in his voice before. And it was directed at her.

"How long has this been going on?' He asked. His facial expression was stony, and his eyes were ice cold.

"Danny—" Steve interjected.

"I'm talking to my _best friend_." Danny interrupted him, his voice raised a little bit. He then turned back to Pen.

"How long?'

Pen's heart was beating erratically now, and she felt like she was beginning to hyperventilate. She couldn't get a full breath in and out of her lungs. She couldn't relax.

"Last Sunday." She said, like the words were too hard to say.

Danny just nodded, and did that weird shuffling thing he did sometimes when he was angry or he didn't know what to do next.

"You didn't think that I would want to know?"

Pen didn't respond. Steve tried to speak again, but Danny shouted at him to be quiet.

"You didn't think that I would want to know that my best friend in the entire world was involved with my partner?" He was shouting now, and it wasn't the good shouting, which involved hand movements. His hands were still firmly held in his pockets.

"Danny we shouldn't do this here." Steve warned him.

"Shut up, McGarrett! I don't want to hear a damn word from the person that's fucking my best friend!"

Pen felt like she had just been slapped in the face. That was the cruelest thing anyone had ever said about her. And a lot of things had been said to her and about her. Pen's heart was breaking. Why was he reacting this way? He was acting like he was King Arthur, and had just caught Guinevere in the sack with Lancelot.

"I expected more from you." Danny said to Pen. "You're my best friend, you tell me everything, and you're going behind my back with my _partner_? That's real friendship."

Pen was still speechless. She just stood there. Not knowing what to say. Shocked into complete silence. Never in a million years would she have thought that Danny would react this way, or speak to her like he was doing. It was like she had committed the worst kind of betrayal.

"Danny, you're being a real jackass right now." Steve spoke, his voice taking on an icy tone to match Danny's. "You need to apologize to Penelope right now, because you're being a crass bastard. Do you even hear yourself? You're degrading your best friend in the world by questioning her morals! We haven't… been intimate… Pen is too much of a lady for that!" Steve really wanted to bash Danny's face in, but Grace was present. He didn't want to lose his standing with her, but at the same time the caveman in him rose up again. His woman was basically being called a whore, and being savagely insulted.

"_Don't_ speak to me." Danny said to him. He shot Pen another icy stare, and stalked over to the mechanical horses to collect Grace. She looked confused, but followed her dad anyway. He grabbed her hand, and didn't stop when they passed Steve and Pen.

"Wait, Daddy, I've got to say good bye to Aunt Pen and Uncle Stevie!" Grace said, trying to extract her hand from her dad's grip. He ignored her request and kept walking.

"Pen! Pen!" She shouted to her godmother. Pen could only stare after Danny's retreating form, rooted to her place. "Uncle Steve! Uncle Steve!" But by then, they had disappeared around the corner, and out of sight.

And then, it was like whatever hold had come over Pen, released. Tears sprung to her eyes in waves, and they fell down her cheeks like waterfalls. Why did it feel like she had just had her heart ripped out of her chest and stomped on? Oh, wait, because that's what had happened. Two strong and warm arms encircled her, and a deep voice began speaking softly to her, trying to calm her down. But she wasn't paying attention to the voice or the arms, nor were they making her feel any better. She disengaged herself from Steve, who looked confusedly at her. Almost like a zombie, she turned and began walking down the street, not really knowing where she was going, but she didn't care.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked her once he had caught up with her.

"Please leave me alone." She said, the first words she was able to speak since she had gotten the verbal beating of her life. "I want to be alone."

"I don't think you should be alone right now." Steve tried.

"I want to be _alone_." She said more forcefully. She began walking again, and felt relief when Steve didn't follow. This had been the brunch from hell… and she felt like she was still there.

**A/N: Whoa, that took a more depressing turn than I had anticipated. But, I figured, Danny is a hot head, and he found out that two of the people he trusts most in the world have been keeping something from him. As usual, he over reacts. **

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who reviewed! I am very sorry it took to long to get this thing up! I was procrastinating, but thanks to the efforts of rice117, I was strong armed to get my shizz together, and JUST WRITE. As usual, I'd like to thank Gizzi1213, for the extra, awesome support.**


	15. Chapter 15: Go Steady With Me?

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Fifteen: Go Steady With Me?**

**Disclaimer: Non ho proprio Hawaii Five-0. If I did, Alex O'Loughlin would be taking his shirt off a WHOLE lot more than he is now… maybe just keeping his shirt off permanently…**

"Danno, _what_ was that?" Grace asked, sitting in the back seat of the Camaro, her little arms crossed. Danny could see her pouty face in the rearview mirror.

"It was an adult conversation, honey. Don't worry about it." Danny replied.

"Danno, you were _yelling_ at Aunt Pen and Uncle Stevie! Why were you doing that? And you didn't let me say good-bye? I wanted to say good-bye!" With every sentence Grace made, her voice grew louder, a testament to half her DNA being a Williams. Her pouty face was quickly morphing into the Williams' angry face as well. Danny could not deal with this right now.

"Grace, I _said_ it is an adult matter, and _not_ to worry about it!" He said, raising his voice as well. He hardly _ever_ raised his voice to his little girl, but he seriously did not want her knowing anything about the current cluster fuck of a situation.

Grace didn't understand what was going on! Brunch was supposed to be a fun, happy time! She may be eight years old, but she could recognize when people were unhappy or upset. All throughout brunch, her godmother looked increasingly sick, and Uncle Stevie was looking uncomfortable. Grace had a feeling it was all her daddy's fault too.

"Danno, I want you to take me back to say good-bye!" Grace demanded, and if she could have reached the floor of the backseat, she would have stamped her little foot.

"No, Grace!" Danny scolded. "We are _not_ going back. We're going to my apartment, and we're going to hang out there."

"Fine! Since you won't take me back to Aunt Pen and Uncle Stevie, I want you to take me _home_ to Mommy! _Now!_" Grace demanded. Again, the imaginary foot stomp.

"Monkey, this is the only time I have to visit with you this week. I don't want to take you back to your mom!"

"I don't want to be with you anymore, today, Danno! Take me back to mommy!" Grace yelled louder this time. "NOW DADDY!"

"ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT!" Danny yelled back in frustration. "I'll take you back to your mother!"

At the next light, he took a hasty U-turn and headed in the direction of Step-Stan's house. The rest of the car trip involved Grace giving him the silent treatment, and not even looking at him in the rearview mirror as she did sometimes, shooting him her cute little smile. All that he saw was a sullen, pissed off eight year old, who didn't want to talk to him… at all.

When Danny pulled up to the gate, he entered in the code (still Grace's birthday) and zoomed in when it had opened fully.

Rachel was surprised, to say the least, when she saw Danny and her daughter standing on the doorstep.

"Grace wanted to come home early." Danny commented, understating the gravity of the situation.

"What?" Rachel asked. "What happened?"

"I wanted to come home." Grace answered, and stepped around her mother to go into the house.

"Doesn't Danno get a hug?" Danny asked his daughter before she could disappear from sight.

"No!"

Danny felt slighted, but tried again.

"Danno loves you honey!" He shouted to her, but she ran out of sight, most likely up to her bedroom.

"What on earth is going on?" Rachel asked again, her tone a little more desperate this time. She wanted to know why her daughter was clearly so angry! And it had something to do with her father, obviously.

Danny shrugged.

"Nothing, just a misunderstanding."

"_That_ is _not_ a misunderstanding, Daniel." Rachel said, her own ire beginning to rise. "_That _is a disappointed and very angry child. What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything to her!" Danny replied, his voice rising again for what seemed to be the umpteenth time in the past hour or so.

"You need to leave now, Daniel." Rachel said, this time her tone was icy. "Get in your car, and get the hell out of here… now."

Danny threw up his hands and stalked back to his Camaro. He realized, as he peeled out of the driveway, almost taking the gate with him, that the whole world was against him today.

When Rachel was sure that Danny was gone and not coming back, she slammed the front door and raced up to Grace's room to see what was wrong. Grace was lying face down on the bed, her little body shaking slightly with sobs. Rachel rushed over to her and pulled her little baby into her arms.

"Tell me what's wrong, sweetie." Rachel begged. Grace sniffled and swiped at her tears.

"Mommy? What does 'fucking' mean?"

Rachel gasped. Where had her daughter heard that word?

"Where did you hear that honey?"

"Dan… Danno told me to go play on those horsies by the diner we go to… and… and… I saw him yelling at Aunt Pen and Uncle Stevie. And he told Uncle Stevie that he didn't want to talk to him because he was fucking Aunt Pen. He wouldn't let me say good-bye to them! He just dragged me away. Aunt Pen looked _really _upset! And I don't know why!" Grace was reduced to more sobs. Rachel ssh-ed her, and began singing Grace's favorite lullaby softly to her. Within a few minutes, Grace was finally able to stop crying.

Rachel could not believe this. She was angry, she was confused, and she couldn't believe that Danny would be yelling at his best friend in such a manner… and in public!

"Mommy what does it mean? Why was daddy so angry at them?"

Rachel had no idea how to explain this to Grace. She was too young to know about "fucking" or just in general, being intimate. But Grace was clearly distraught over the whole thing, and completely puzzled.

"Why do you think daddy was angry at them?" Rachel decided to go with.

Grace sniffled a little bit more before she answered.

"I think daddy found out about her and Steve."

"What about her and Steve?"

Grace shrugged to signal she wasn't really sure.

"I asked Uncle Steve if he and Aunt Pen are going to get married. He said they weren't. That they weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend yet. But they should be, mommy! I think Aunt Pen likes him very much. But I… I don't think daddy likes the idea of Aunt Pen and Uncle Steve being together. That's why he got so angry and yelled at them, about 'fucking.'"

Rachel was so angry right now. The nerve of that cretin to get in the way of Penelope and a man that she was interested in! For Danny's sake, he better not have hurt Pen or he would have to answer to her.

"Aunt Pen looked really upset, mommy." Gracie continued, a note of helplessness in her voice. "She looked like she was going to cry, and I couldn't give her a hug to make her feel better!" A couple of fresh tears slipped down Grace's cheeks, and Rachel wiped them away. Daniel had hurt Pen.

"Gracie, sweetheart. Don't you worry about your Aunt Pen. She is brave and strong, and is a tough cookie, as your Grandma Williams says. But Grace, 'fucking' is a bad word, and I do not want you to repeat it, ever."

"I won't, mommy. Can I know what it means?" Grace asked.

"No, honey, you're too young to know what it means. It is a very adult word, and when used in the wrong way, it is a very _mean_ and _cruel _adult word."

This just seemed to upset Grace more.

"And daddy said it to Aunt Pen! Why would he do that, mommy? He loves Aunt Pen like a sister!"

Rachel just held her closer when some more tears came. Rachel wanted to know the same thing. That ex-husband of hers better have a damn good explanation for this.

Their monthly dinner had been last night, and Rachel had wanted to hear more about Steve. She had only met him once while helping Daniel with a case, but he had been nothing but a gentleman. Which can't be said about her dear ex-husband. Rachel had never seen Pen so animated about a guy. The slight mention of Steve had Pen's face lighting up. Pen had explained to her that they were taking it slow; that they hadn't even defined what this was yet. Rachel knew that "taking it slow" to Pen, meant not being intimate. So it made Rachel even more pissed that Danny would accuse his best friend of such a thing!

"Sweetheart, why don't you lay down for a little while? I will come check on you later?"

Grace nodded her head. She removed her shoes, and climbed under the covers. Rachel tucked her in, and kissed her on the forehead. Rachel had a phone call to make. She grabbed her cell phone on the way out of the house; she was going to need somewhere away from Grace where she could easily yell.

"Is Grace ok?" Danny asked in way of answering her phone call.

"You selfish bastard!" Rachel said icily. The yelling hadn't even begun. She felt the need to steadily work up to that.

"Excuse me?" Danny asked, totally confused and stunned.

"Where do you think you get off telling Penelope who she can and can not be with?"

"How do you—?"

"Don't interrupt me, Daniel!"

"But you just asked—"

"DO NOT interrupt me, DANIEL." The yelling was about to start now. "I WANT to know why you said such a cruel thing about your BEST FRIEND?

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked, which only infuriated Rachel more. He knew damn well what she was talking about!

"What business is it of yours who Penelope is involved with?"

"No, Rachel, I'm not doing this with you. I'm not justifying my actions to you." Danny replied.

"Oh! So you feel like you need to justify your actions? Are you feeling guilty for insulting her, then? For claiming that your partner is 'FUCKING' your best friend? Pen told me that 'they're taking it slow' you know good and well that she means she's not going to 'FUCK' him!"

"This is none of your business!" Danny yelled. "I'm not doing this with you!"

"Like HELL you are! She is MY good friend too, and I refuse to stand by and let you walk all over her! She did NOTHING wrong, Daniel!"

"NOTHING WRONG? NOTHING WRONG? She's going behind my back to shack up with my partner! My crazy ass, guns blazing, stone cold SEAL, partner!"

Rachel could not believe Danny's reaction. He was taking this to a whole other level, the level of ridiculousness. She had never seen him like this before, but she knew that no matter what she said, it wasn't going to get through that thick New Jersey skull of his.

"You should know that Grace is really upset with you, and I WILL not let you see her until she is ready to see you. YOU try telling an eight-year-old what FUCKING is! Good bye, Daniel."

And before he could protest, she hung up on him. She next tried to call Pen, but there was no answer, and then her voicemail picked up. For Daniel's sake, something better not have happened to Pen in her distressed state or he would be answering to a furious British woman.

* * *

Pen didn't know how she got here. Here being one of Oahu's many surfing beaches. It was about noon now, and the ocean was packed with boarders. She quickly found a vacant bench, and sat down.

There were so many people around, sun bathing, surfing, skim boarding, building sandcastles, and whatever else one did at the beach. So many people, but despite that Pen felt alone. But that's what she wanted. Wasn't it?

_I expected more from you_.

_You're my best friend, you tell me everything, and you're going behind my back with my _partner?

_I don't want to hear a damn word from the person that's fucking my best friend!_

_I heard that you've been lying to me._

These words kept replaying themselves in her head, over and over and over again. Fresh waves of tears sprang to her eyes, and down they fell, along her cheeks. Danny had been so cruel. So unforgiving. And now he wasn't talking to her, and he had practically taken Grace away from her.

She had never kept anything from him. Ever since they were kids, they told each other everything, even the most uncomfortable of secrets. They didn't and couldn't hide emotions from each other either. He knew, just by looking at her, when she had bad days. She had known what he was really feeling when Rachel had served him with divorce papers, before he had even realized it.

Now, Pen was feeling empty. Totally bereft of something inside of her. She had hurt him, and she didn't think she could forgive herself for that. She had kept a secret from him, and again felt that she could not forgive herself.

"Pen?"

Pen looked up at the owner of the voice, and through the curtain of tears in her eyes, she saw Kono standing about five feet in front of her, a surfboard under her arm, and a yellow and red bikini on.

"Kono." She acknowledged.

"Oh my God, Pen, what happened?" She asked, throwing her surfboard to the sand, and quickly plopping down on the bench.

It was then that Pen really broke down. Sobs racked her body and tore past her lips. Her chest hurt. Her heart hurt. She felt like she couldn't breath. Kono placed an arm around her shoulders and just let her cry. And man, did she cry? She couldn't remember the last time she had had a good break down like this. It was probably at least nine years ago, when her dad's death had finally hit her.

"It's ok, get it all out." Kono said, rather soothingly, rubbing circles along Pen's back.

And then there was Steve! Steve and this Catherine chick! What was _that_ story about? Pen could pretty much speculate. She knew that this Catherine person was probably really sweet, nice, gorgeous, thinner, with a bright smile and sparkly eyes. A man like Steve would probably have nothing less. But he was with something less, he was with Pen. He must have lost a bet or something. There was no way that Steve would go for Pen when there was Catherine waiting on the other side. Where the grass was greener. A new wave hit, and there went that heartache again. She should just end whatever it was between them before she got more emotionally involved. Steve didn't want to be with her! Not when he had Catherine.

Man, boyfriend number two really did a number on her. Charles, who only liked to be called Charles, was charming and cute and funny and he just had this weird magnetism about him. Maybe it was because he was a lawyer? He had been great… until Pen caught him in a questionable position with his legal assistant. When she had asked him why, he just told her that he had made a bet with his best friend, John (who had been a fellow Ph.D. student with Pen, and had introduced them) that he couldn't get her in bed. Pen had been a driven woman; she had been completely immersed in her studies and had no time for men. She had sort of taken on this prudish sort of vibe, and refused anyone that asked her for a date. But Charles… Charles had been different. After a month and a half of dating, he had gotten her in bed. She never did ask what he won for sleeping with her. Danny had been absolutely furious, and Pen had to physically restrain him and make him promise not to do anything stupid.

"I'm sorry, Kono." Pen choked out, once she had gotten a hold of herself a little bit.

"What happened? Is everything ok? Did someone get hurt?" Kono asked.

Pen spent the next ten minutes or so explaining the whole situation to the other woman, starting with when Steve and Pen had first met, up till this very moment where they were both sitting on the bench. Kono was silent for a minute or so before she spoke.

"I thought I saw something there." Kono smiled.

"What?" Pen asked, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"When we all had lunch the other day. He kept looking at you when you weren't looking. Then you looked at him when he wasn't looking. I thought it was really cute! And then he offered to take you back to work and Danny about had a fit! I suspect Steve didn't really go out for batteries for his night vision goggles, did he?"

Pen smiled at the memory and shook her head no.

"Don't worry about Danny." Kono said. "He may be feeling betrayed right now, but he'll get over it. He _is_ your best friend, and that kind of bond doesn't just break. I understand why you didn't say anything to him, though. If you had told him when this thing first began, he would have flipped out just as much."

Pen nodded.

"And you're worried about Catherine? I can't really say much about her because I've never met her. That's something you should talk to Steve about. Let him tell you his side of the story."

Pen was really glad she had run into Kono. She had this certain vibe to her that calmed Pen down and made her get a grip. Not to mention Kono's logical brain was making her feel better about the situation. Pen shouldn't let Danny get her down. She did nothing wrong! The only thing she was guilty of was starting a relationship with a guy that Danny was close to. It was Danny's own fault that he over reacted. As for the Catherine situation, well, Kono was right again. She should talk to Steve about it, and tell him that if he wanted to be with Catherine, he should just tell her now.

"Thank you so much, Kono." Pen said, wiping away the last of her tears. Her nose was still a little stuffed up, but it had stopped running. She gave the other woman a hug.

"Are you feeling better now?" Kono asked.

Pen nodded again, and straightened out her sweatshirt.

"You don't happen to have your bathing suit on under that do you?" Kono had a sly look on her face.

"Uhh… no." Pen stuttered. Kono smiled mischievously, and looked around the boardwalk.

"Well, you're in luck, because there's a bathing suit store a little ways down the beach. Come on! We're going to get you a suit, and I'm going to teach you how to surf!"

"WHAT?"

* * *

"AHHHHH!"

That seemed to be the only thing Pen could say within the past hour. That and "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" as she was able to skim the wave for thirty seconds before wiping out. She had just had a really narly crash, with water flying up her nose and everything.

"You almost had it that time!" Kono exclaimed. It was meant to be encouraging, but Pen didn't feel encouraged.

She almost didn't come out of the dressing room in the first place. She realized that she _hated_ being seen in public in a bathing suit, and resigned to go home and burn the one she had. Kono kept throwing suit after suit over the door to her, and refused to let her leave until she picked on out. She wasn't having any luck until Kono threw over one that Pen _really_ liked. It was the perfect balance of feeling adequately modest, but also sexy. The suit had the sweetheart neckline and was lower than she normally would go for. But she loved it because it had a 1940s pin up vibe, and all she needed was a flower in her hair.

"I _never_ would have thought surfing could be this much fun!" Pen said, laughing. She didn't think she would be so happy after the events of the morning, but thanks to Kono, she had temporarily cast the thoughts from her mind.

"Want to try one more time before calling it a day?" Kono asked.

"Let's do it!"

With her rented surfboard, Pen ran into the ocean, closely following behind Kono. Pen ran over Kono's instructions as they paddled out a ways, going against the flow of the waves.

"This is a good place." Kono told her. They turned their boards around and sat up on them. The water was so blue and beautiful, and not cold at all. The view out here was astounding. One could really take in the city skyline, and the beautiful pearly sands of the beaches stretching for miles. Pen felt calm, at peace. That was saying something considering how traumatic the morning had been.

"You ready? Here comes a good one!" Kono exclaimed. Pen looked behind her to see the beginnings of a good swell, at least one good enough for a beginner like her. She felt her muscles contracting in anticipation, and took the ready position. The wave rushed over her, and she felt the exhilaration that must be why people surfed over and over again. And then, it was as if the sounds of the world were muted, and all she could hear was her accelerated heartbeat, her heavy breathing, and Kono's voice.

_Feel at one with the board. Feel it as a solid rock foundation underneath you. It will not budge unless you make it move. Feel the wave, don't let it take over, you're the master of it. _

Pen hoisted herself up onto the board the moment that Kono had instructed her too during her brief training. After a moment of terror where she thought she was going to wobble off the board, she was able to right herself. She was riding the wave! She was a bit shaky… ok… a lot shaky… but she pumped her arms into the air when she successfully made it back to shore without wiping out.

"WOOHHOO!" Kono cheered, as she ran over to Pen with her board. "You did it!"

"It was a little touch and go there, but I didn't crash this time!" Pen said, a huge smile on her face. She was very impressed with herself. She had never been one for much outdoor activities, let alone ones that involved balance and a board (she was a bit of a klutz), but she had done it! She felt like she could do anything now! Even take on Danny. Ok, maybe not yet, but she was ready to talk to Steve.

"You want to grab something to eat?" Kono asked as they trekked back to the bench where they had left their stuff.

"Sounds good!"

The two women gathered their things and went to the spigot that acted as a shower. Cold fresh water cascaded down and cleaned off the sand and salt water. Pen toweled off, and put her jeans, t-shirt and sweatshirt back on. Everything else she had shoved in her purse.

Kono drove them out to a place called Helena's Hawaiian Food, which Kono swore by. Pen had been here months and had yet to try any Hawaiian food, so she was excited. Helena's was a small restaurant, which hadn't gotten busy just yet. The food was delicious! Pen tried the Kalua pig with rice, and every bite was like a piece of Heaven.

Pen was so glad that she had inadvertently found Kono in her zombie-like state. Who knows what she would have done if she hadn't been rescued by the female Five-0 officer. Kono had taken the time to listen to her, and then thoroughly distracted her mind with some recreational surfing.

Afterward, Kono offered to drive Pen back to her apartment. Pen accepted this time, and they chatted lightly as Kono drove across town. They were already making plans for their next surfing trip, on top of their macaroon making date.

"You can pull up by that green sedan." Pen pointed out, which was Mrs. Smith's car. Kono maneuvered the car with impressive parallel parking skills, and finally came to a stop.

"Thank you so much Kono. For everything." Pen told the other woman with complete sincerity.

"It was no problem at all, Pen. Really. Just… don't worry too much about Danny. He'll eventually get over it and realize what a complete asshole he is being. It'll help a little if I treat him as such at work."

Pen laughed.

"I appreciate it."

"And…" Kono said, looking out the window around Pen's head. "… now is your chance to work things out with Steve."

Pen was confused until she looked over to her front door. Steve was standing there, looking pretty worried, but relieved now that Pen had showed up.

Pen sighed, and turned back to Kono.

"Thanks again, Kono. I'll give you a call later."

"Later, Pen!"

When Pen got out of the car, she tried to look everywhere but at Steve. He didn't make it easy on her though, because he jumped the stairs to grab her into a hug.

"Jesus, I was so worried." He said, holding her so close she thought she would suffocate. Pen was eventually able to pry herself loose from his grip.

"As you can see, I'm fine. Kono took care of me." Pen told him.

"I noticed. I'm glad she found you. God, Pen I was worried as hell. I rode around trying to find you. I must have called you eight times, and left five voicemails. I was _this close_ to calling Chin to get a location on your cell phone, but then… I finally got that you wanted to be alone. So, I thought I'd stay here until you got back."

"The boy's been wearing a path in our front stoop for the past two hours!" Yelled Mrs. Smith out her living room window. Pen laughed and Steve smiled. "I tried to get him in here for some lemonade, but he wouldn't budge!"

"I'm sorry if he was bothering you, Mrs. Smith." Pen apologized.

"Don't be! The man has a terrific ass!" And then Mrs. Smith shut her window and retreated further into her living room. Pen chuckled.

"Sorry." He said, somewhat sheepishly.

"It was ten, by the way. You called me ten times." Pen informed him. And Rachel had called her once. So had Kathryn, having left some gag worthy voicemail about how funny Danny was and how sweet and cute he had been. Kathryn had told her to call her back to get the full details. Yeah right, Pen would get right on that! Pen turned around and walked up the stairs. Maybe she wasn't ready to deal with Steve yet.

"This is all my fault." Steve's voice stopped her. She turned around and looked down at him. He had one foot on the first step, and a hand on the railing. He had this look, a pained look. He really did think it was his fault.

"No, Steve. It's mine. I let things go on for too long."

"What things? Us or not telling Danny about us?" He asked, his brow furrowing in a mixture of confusion and frustration or anger.

"Probably both." Pen said.

"No. No, no, no. You are not going to do this." Steve said, pulling himself up the stairs to be closer to her.

"Do what, Steve? Clearly us being together is just causing trouble for multiple parties, and…"

"And what?" He asked, desperate to know the reason why the hell she was suddenly making a complete 180 on their whole relationship.

"And… maybe you should be with Catherine instead. Clearly I'm not… not in your league."

Steve blinked and wanted to laugh hysterically, but was able to contain himself. This woman was crazy! How could she think that he wanted to be with anyone but her? Hadn't he made it obvious? Then again, she hadn't known about Catherine, and Danny blind-sided her with it. Another reason why he wanted to bash his partner's head in.

"I don't want to be with Catherine." Steve stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why not?" Pen asked, stepping away from him. She couldn't think when he was so close to her. "She's an officer, correct?"

"A lieutenant."

"And she's gorgeous, yes? A brunette?"

"Yes, she's a brunette."

"You see? She's more of the cheerleader and I'm… I'm Sandra."

Steve was still thoroughly confused but he thought he understood what she was trying to say. She wasn't confident enough in herself to think that he would want to be with her. She felt that she was the "cool nerd" that didn't get the jock.

"This isn't high school, Pen. And I _mean it_ when I say that I don't want to be with her!" Steve said with as much conviction as he could muster. "Yes, I admit that we've had this whole… shore leave… booty call thing, if you will. But it's never been anything much more than that! It's all we've ever had time for, and it's all we've ever wanted to do. Until she met Captain Hargrove."

"Captain Hargrove?" Pen asked.

"It's the man she's getting serious about." Steve said. Pen's mouth formed an "O."

"Oh."

"Yeah, haven't talked to her much in the past few months, but it sounds like they're in it for the long haul. She doesn't want to be with me. I don't want to be with her. I _want_ to be with you."

"Are you sure?" Pen asked. Steve laughed this time. Full on, head back, laugh.

"YES! It's what I've been trying to tell you!" He stepped forward, closer to her, and took hold of her head in his hands. "Look, I don't care about Danny. It's Danny's problem the way he reacted. Although, I am sorry that I didn't beat him to a bloody pulp for you. I figure Grace may not like me much if I did it."

Pen laughed. She couldn't move her head because of his light but firm grip, so she had to look him in the face. In the eye. God his eyes. Sometimes they looked blue, and sometimes they looked green. Regardless, they were fathomless, and she wondered why she didn't look in them more often.

"I want to be with you. You are so beautiful to me. And you're so intelligent and kind and funny. You are unlike any woman I have ever met. And now… be prepared, because I'm about to go all 1950s high school on you…"

Pen laughed. Oh God, this man was amazing. He was handsome and funny. Clearly intelligent and crafty, or else he wouldn't have made it as a SEAL. Supposedly, he was crazy and got people fired at with bullets. She had yet to see this side of him… all she saw was this kind, gentle man that treated an eight year old like she was his own child.

"Penelope Harrison…" He began, having stepped back from her. His grip changed from her head to both of her hands, but he still held her captive with his eyes. "Will you… go steady with me?"

Pen burst out laughing. That was a question she had never gotten before.

"You don't like the 1950s approach? How about… high school after the 1960s? Penelope Harrison… will you be my girlfriend?"

She laughed again.

"Steve McGarrett… I will go steady with you." She had liked the 1950s approach. "Do I get to wear your class ring now?"

Steve grimaced and looked thoughtful.

"Well… I hadn't thought about that. I could give you my Annapolis ring?"

"Maybe later." Pen replied, before grabbing him by the back of the neck to kiss him. It wasn't anything too passionate, and yet she put as much feeling behind it as she could. She pulled away. "I want to be with you too, Steve." She had never wanted anything so bad in her entire life, actually. He grinned and kissed her.

"So… will you tell me what you and Kono did today?"

He held her as close to him as he could, not wanting to let her go now that he had her. Truly had her. Steve had never felt this exhilarated in his entire life! Not even when he was on a top-secret mission with adrenaline pumping.

"We surfed." She said. He made her feel so tiny when standing so close to him. He was almost a head taller than her, but his presence just engulfed her. She felt safe again. And she didn't feel alone.

"You… you surfed?" He asked, clearly not expecting the answer she had given.

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Actually, kind of. Considering I had to practically drag you into the ocean to swim with me. What did you wear in the ocean, anyway? Your underwear?"

"I got a new bathing suit." She replied.

"A new bathing suit, huh?" He asked her, one side of his mouth quirked up. "Can I see this bathing suit?"

"Hmm…" She whispered, pretending like she was really thinking on it. "Maybe later?"

"Aww, come on. Not even a little peak?"

She just smiled at him.

They stood together for some time in silence. Pen felt stupid. She should have never fallen into that trap of jealousy Danny had been trying to set. She should have known that if Steve really wanted to be with Catherine, than he would have been with the Navy woman, and not there with Pen. Pen sent silent well wishes to Catherine and her Captain. Pen had her own Lieutenant Commander.

Steve's ringing cell phone filled the silence that had fallen around them. At least it wasn't Pen's phone this time. Steve sighed, and pulled the phone out of his pocket.

"McGarrett!" He answered. This better be a _good_ interruption.

"This is Kimo Makani. I have a name for you."

**A/N: Whew! Those were some intense responses for last chapter! I know Danny is being a huge douche, but he's still a good guy at heart. He just didn't think before he spoke. Anyway, please, people, don't hate him too much!**

**A HUGE thank you to all reviewers, especially to everyone that was all riled up! And as always thank you so much to Gizzi1213 and rice117! The best!**


	16. Chapter 16: Elephant in the Room

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Sixteen: Elephant in the Room**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Hawaii Five-0… if I did… I would have ensured a win for Scott Caan at the Golden Globes.**

Chin really wished sometimes he could read minds. He had no idea why there was this HUGE elephant standing in the corner of the room… but it was there. Know what else was there? Absolute rage and hostility permeated a three-foot radius around both Steve and Danny who were standing as far away from each other as they could. Neither looked, acknowledged, or talked to the other. His cousin stood closer to Steve than she did Danny, and kept shooting the ex-New Jersey cop sideways glances that looked oddly unfriendly. Chin was clearly out of the loop.

"Chin, what have you got on this Jin Lo Ming, guy?" Steve asked, all business. Before Chin answered, he took another glance at all his teammates' faces. Danny looked like he had something foul smelling under his nose. Kono stood with her hands on her hips, which to him said that she was ready to kick someone's ass. Steve, well… Steve looked more surly than usual. His arms were crossed, and his gaze never wavered from the screens.

Fingers flew across the touch screen as Chin brought up all the information he had found on Jin Lo Ming. A picture popped up, and it was of an Asian man, probably late thirties, or early forties, with piercing eyes.

"Jin Lo Ming." Chin began. "He is a Yale educated Economics major who does brokering as a day job. He has long been suspected of other business ventures though. Mostly smuggling of various things: drugs, weapons, humans… and now apparently antiquities. He's always been _suspected_ because no one has ever been able to pin anything on him. He's not married and has no children. Lives in a condo not far from here. Has no priors. Credit card records showed that he booked a flight out of Hawaii for noon today. Luckily for us… he never checked in for the flight."

"I think we should go find this guy and have a chat." Steve stated before making an about face and heading to his office to gear up. Chin took that as the signal to follow as well. He headed to his own office to get his bulletproof vest. He had been in the middle of some R and R when Steve had called him into work. It was now five o'clock in the afternoon, and he was missing his beer and football game. Once he had gotten all the things he needed, he decided to ask his cousin about what in the hell was going on all of a sudden.

"Yo, cuz." Chin said, walking into Kono's office and shutting the door soundlessly behind him. "What's happening?"

Kono looked up from where she was fixing the Velcro straps on her own vest.

"Danny and Steve won't be talking to each other for awhile."

"And why is it that half of our team won't be talking to each other?" He asked.

Kono gave him the low down of what she knew, and how distressed Pen had been when she had seen her that afternoon. Chin was completely shocked. Danny had done that? How could he have been so callous to Pen? They had _just_ been joking around and having lunch the other day… and now they weren't talking? Chin couldn't believe that Danny was still upright and walking around! He had figured that Steve would have crippled him easily after the comments Danny had made about Pen.

"You know, cuz, we can't work together like this. Their fighting could get someone, maybe one of us, killed." Chin pointed out.

Kono sighed.

"You're right. They're not going to want to watch each other's backs. But I don't think they'll be able to make a concession right now. So, until then… I'll work with Danny."

"Are you sure you want Danny?" Chin asked. "I have no problem working with him either."

"It'll be all right. I can handle Danny if he gets out of line." Kono said with a smirk. Chin chuckled.

"That you can, cuz."

* * *

Kono was rethinking her decision to work with Danny. She was now sitting in his Camaro on their way to Ming's condo, in complete silence. Kono had never thought this possible, but Danny Williams was not saying a damn word.

The whole situation was _extremely_ awkward. Danny and Steve had yet to say a word to each other, and the outcome of any words being spoken did not look good.

"So are you mad at me too?" Danny asked all of a sudden. Great, what was she supposed to say to that?

"What do you mean?" She asked, trying to play like she didn't know anything.

"Every other woman in my life is either pissed off at me or lying to me. I was just wondering where we stood?"

Great, now Kono was being dragged into this mess. Ah well, she was there to support Pen and Steve. There was no reason for Danny to have acted the way he did.

"I'll be honest, I ran into Pen earlier and she was really upset. I'm disappointed in you. But we're at work right now, and for us to function without one of us getting killed, requires some…" She had no other way to put it. "… manning up."

Danny sighed.

"You're right. I can't promise anything, but I will try to be indifferent to current personal situations just in case that fool SEAL gets in a bad situation."

Kono let out a relieved breath. At least she was getting something.

They followed Steve and Chin in Steve's blue pick up as they climbed the highway above a cliff face. They were getting into more residential areas where upper middle class people had settled. Jin Lo Ming's condo was nestled not far ahead up on a small mountain. Kono admired the beautiful view of the setting sun from this height. Hawaii was her home, but she could never get enough of the sunsets.

Soon, they were driving up the driveway leading to 12854 Pei Court. No car was in the driveway, nor were there any lights on inside the house. Everyone left their respective cars and surveyed the scene. There was easy access around the back of the house, and Steve instructed Kono (without acknowledging Danny, really) to take the back. Danny walked past Steve and did not even look at him.

Chin kept his trusty shotgun to his side, as Steve and he approached the front door. Steve gave the door a good pounding with his fist.

"Jin Lo Ming, this is Steve McGarrett with Five-0. Open up!"

There was no answer from inside, and after a minute or so there was still no one coming to answer the door.

"Hey, Chin?" Steve asked.

"Yeah?" Chin asked.

"Did you hear that cry for help?"

"I did. We should probably help that person." Chin replied, going along with the gimmick. Steve must have picked this up from Danny at some point. It sounded like a Danny Williams special.

Steve wasted no time in kicking down the door, and stormed in with Chin close behind him, shotgun raised for possible attack. Chin heard the distant sound of another door being "coaxed" open, and he knew that Kono and Danny were in the house too. All four members of Five-0 then began quickly clearing all the rooms in the house.

"Guys!" Kono called once Chin and Steve had finished clearing the upstairs. They followed her voice into the living room where Jin Lo Ming lay on the floor in a pool of blood. He had been stabbed multiple times, his abdomen almost shredded, but there was no sign of the offending weapon anywhere around the body.

"Well, now we know why Mr. Ming never made it out of Hawaii today…" Danny quipped.

Steve felt like he wanted to punch something. Danny was right there… he could just easily… no, not yet. And he meant "not yet." That little pansy ass New Jersian was going to get a mouthful of Steve's fist at some point. Now was not really the right time.

"Kono, call the crime lab, get some techs up here to process the scene." Steve instructed her.

"Got it, boss." She replied, pulling out her phone.

"You think somebody got greedy and decided to take him out for his share of the profits?" Chin asked Steve.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Steve muttered, kneeling down by the body.

Danny was now looking around for… well... anything. Murder weapon, anything that he could find. He was trying to stay as far away from Steve as he possibly could. He didn't want to get around the guy in case they got into it again. Now was not the time for that.

* * *

Dave Monroe showed up about a half hour later with three other crime scene technicians. They brought up their clean suits, evidence bags, and all their tools. No one wanted to be out on a Saturday evening, but crime never slept. Chin wondered whether Dave Monroe ever had a day off though. The guy was there whenever they needed someone. Max showed up not long after with a couple of his own assistants. Soon, the living room of Jin Lo Ming's seaside condo was packed.

"Cause of death was exsanguination." Max declared. As if the huge pool of blood around the victim wasn't enough. "He also has defensive wounds on his arms, indicating a struggle. The cuts on his hands could be from trying to fend off the knife. I would estimate the time of death to be around 10 a.m. this morning, according to his liver temperature. We'll know more when we finish the autopsy."

"Thanks very much, Max." Steve said. "Let us know if you find anything."

"Of course." The medical examiner replied.

"Oh, wait, Dr. Bergman." Dave bade. He rushed over to the body with an ink pad and a fingerprinting sheet. "Forgot to do this. I know you usually do it, but I could go ahead and take the prints to see if they're a match to the ones I found on the murder weapons."

Max stepped out of the way as Dave quickly and carefully took fingerprints. Once he was done, Max and his assistants zipped up Jin Lo Ming in a black body bag, hoisted him up onto a stretcher, and then left the condo.

The CSIs were hard at work processing the scene and Kono had been dispatched to track down any neighbors in the off chance they had seen something. Chin was investigating a laptop he had found, and so far found nothing questionable. It was mainly just brokering business. There was nothing in the man's emails either, also no hidden or encrypted files.

Kono walked back into the room with absolutely nothing from any of the neighbors. They were either away from their house, or too far away to even see the condo. Ming's car was still in the garage, a black Cadillac, and there were no fresh tire marks on the driveway other than their cars.

There wasn't much left they could do. As Steve and Chin walked back out to the blue pickup, Steve told Chin to pull all phone records once they had gotten back to Five-0 headquarters. Danny and Kono had pulled out of the driveway and peeled off down the street back down the mountain. Before Steve and Chin could get anywhere, Dave came jogging out.

"Hey, boss man, I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to rest until I've tested everything we find here. You _will_ have your results faster than you can shake a stick at, and you _will_ find this son of a bitch.

"Thanks Dave. I really do appreciate it, but don't kill yourself tonight doing stuff. Go home, relax. It'll get done when it gets done." Steve told the young CSI. "But, at the same time, you find out anything, you let me know."

"Yes, sir." Dave replied and ran back into the condo to get back to work. Steve and Chin exchanged an amused smile, and Steve hauled ass back to headquarters.

* * *

Pen had been disappointed… to say the least. She had hoped to invite Steve up for a relaxing night of movies and maybe some snuggling on the couch. But she guessed it wasn't in the cards. He had left her a few hours ago, and she had no idea what to do with herself. She should probably call Rachel back to tell her that she was fine. She should probably call Kathryn back as well to tell her about things… but as much as they were friends, Pen honestly didn't want to mess up whatever may be starting between Danny and Kathryn. Pen figured that Kathryn would take her side, chicks before dicks and all that.

She decided that she would talk to Rachel tomorrow. And she would also call Kathryn and act all excited to hear about the date. Pen was surprised when her phone actually rang. She had been holding it in her hand, debating on whether or not to call people back. It was Steve.

"Hey, so, the lead that I got… turned out to be dead." Steve told her.

"Oh my God! Do you know yet whether he was involved with anything?" Pen asked.

"Nothing concrete yet, but we'll see."

Pen's heart fell. They just couldn't get anything right with this case! The one time they get a name… the person ends up dead!

Pen glanced at the clock on the wall in the kitchen. It was 8:30.

"Are you still at the office?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm about to head home. I just wanted to hear your voice."

Pen smiled.

"Why don't you come over here? I really want to see you, and I honestly kind of don't want to be alone right now." Pen hated the desperation in her voice, but she wanted her boyfriend. Wow, boyfriend. What a great word when in reference to Steve.

"Your wish is my command, ma'am." He replied, sounding thrilled to be seeing her as well. "I'll be there shortly."

Once Pen had hung up with him, she then scrambled around her apartment to pick up the things she had thrown carelessly everywhere. She ran into her bedroom to make her bed (it was a compulsion she had, she had no idea why she was really doing it), and she checked to make sure she had cold beers in the refrigerator.

In no time, Steve was calling her to be let in. She ran down the stairs in the foyer to unlock the door to let him in. Once inside, with the door locked again, he swept her into his arms, and brought his lips down to hers. Heaven. Pure Heaven. She hoped that she would be greeted like this for days and months to come.

"Well hello to you too." Pen said out of breath, when he pulled away. He grinned smugly down at her.

"Hey, babe."

He grabbed her hand as she led him up to her apartment, and soon they were cuddled together on the couch. Steve had a beer in his hand and his girl cuddled to his side. What more could he ask for? She knew exactly what he needed after the earlier bust that may or may not yield anything. They sat there for a while, watching random television programs and just talking. Steve would admit that, before he had met Pen, there really wouldn't have been much talking going on if this was anyone else. He loved this. This intimacy without being naked.

"How was Danny?" Pen dared to ask after the conversation had lulled for a minute.

Steve didn't know why she gave a flying fuck how Danny was. The man didn't deserve her concern at all.

"I don't really know… I wasn't talking to him." He replied coolly.

Pen inwardly sighed. She had every confidence in her best friend that he will eventually lift the wool from his eyes and see reason. It's just… how long was that going to take? Pen also felt sorry for Kono and Chin. They were right in the middle of two warring teammates. She felt guilty. No! No, she wasn't going to feel guilty. She wasn't.

A little while later, Pen couldn't help but yawn loudly. Her head had been resting on Steve's shoulder, with her legs tucked up under her.

"Someone is sleepy." Steve pointed out.

"Mmhmm." Pen mumbled, eyes drooping.

"Come on, it's time for bed." Steve said, standing up abruptly. Pen fell face down on the couch and groaned. He just laughed… the nerve. "Come on!"

She stood somewhat clumsily. Steve took her hands and led her into the direction of her bedroom. Distantly in her mind, she was glad that she had made the bed or else it would have looked a mess! He pulled back the covers for her, and pushed her into the bed. Pen burrowed in, and Steve tucked her sheet and comforter around her. He kissed her sweetly on the forehead, bade her a "good night" and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Pen muttered, the sleep fogging her brain again.

"I'm going home." Steve told her.

"No." She replied, and patted the side of the bed that was empty.

Oh boy. This was new territory for Steve. He quickly racked his brain, and realized that he had never actually slept beside a woman without first having had sex. Eh, what was the harm? He was a military man after all, and he followed orders. Steve walked around to the other side of the queen bed, and sat down to take his shoes off. Uh… did she want him to be under the covers with her, or on top of them? This was kind of awkward… and she looked asleep already. To be safe, he decided to just sleep on top of the covers. Before lying down, he took his phone and keys and everything else out of the pockets of his cargo pants he had changed into earlier. There was a bedside table on which he placed these items. Then, he lay down. Instantly, Pen turned around and nestled into his side.

Oh boy. A new experience. A not at all unpleasant experience. Steve adjusted to be more comfortable. Actually… this was a _really_ good experience. Maybe it was because it was with Pen, but this felt a hundred times better than post coital spooning. Steve gingerly turned to face Pen. She looked peaceful in sleep. Her worry had left her face, and then tension had left her body. She breathed softly and contentedly.

After a few minutes, he realized he was kind of being creepy, so he shut his eyes as well and willed himself to sleep. As he went over the brink, a thought flitted across his mind. He could very well be falling in love with this woman…

* * *

When Pen came to awareness the next morning, she realized a few things. One, she was on her left side, jammed against something. Two, there was this really insistent, annoying vibrating going on somewhere. And three, the something as mentioned in point number one, was not a something. It was a someone. It had a pulse, it was warm (oh so deliciously warm), and it moved up and down like it was breathing. Before she could freak out and wonder what in the hell was going on, she vaguely remembered being tucked into bed and motioning for Steve to sleep beside her.

She cracked an eye open. Steve was lying on his stomach, above the covers she noted. Pen then realized that she was practically lying on top of him… her head was on one of his shoulder blades, and her arm was thrown across his waist. She didn't want to move… at all… but she had to figure out what the hell that vibrating, buzzing sound was.

Pen rolled over as slowly as she could to not wake him, and she stood up to follow the origin of the noise. It led her around the bed, and to the other side of the room. Oh! It was Steve's phone. It was vibrating against the wooden bedside table. She wondered if she should wake him… it could be an important case related call.

He looked so adorable though! His arms were shoved under the pillow that held his head, and his face was sort of serene. Those eyelashes were ridiculous. They were so long they almost brushed his cheekbone.

Glancing at the clock on the other bedside table, she saw that it was seven o'clock. It was Sunday. The day before Monday. Blah.

She looked back at the very tall man that was still sleeping in her bed. Ok, this was kind of awkward. What was she supposed to do? Should she make him breakfast? It had been awhile since she let a man into her bed for any reason, and she couldn't remember what to do. Was there really anything she could do? Get back into the bed with him... that's what she could do. So, she did, carefully slipping under the covers with minimal jarring of the sleeping man.

Too late. He began to stir and rolled over right on top of her.

"OOPH!" She let out as the breath was knocked out of her. The man sure was heavy… must be all that lean, hard, muscle… Ok, mind out of the gutter! There is a very heavy, still sleeping, man crushing her!

"Steve." She called out. He grumbled.

"Steve, you are slowly suffocating me!" She gasped out. Steve jerked awake and rolled off of her.

"Sorry!" He apologized, checking her over for damage. When he didn't see any, he pulled her flush against him; tucking her head under his chin.

"You weren't cold at all were you?" She asked him.

"No," He replied, still brushing the sleep out of his voice.

"You slept on top of the covers. As much as I find that sweet and chivalrous and all, you could have gotten under them for warmth." She told him, slinging her arm around him. It had been crushed between them, and she had finally gotten it free before it turned into "T-Rex arm."

"I had all the warmth I needed right here." He told her… meaning her. She felt her face flush, and smiled widely.

"Your phone buzzed, by the way."

He stretched his arm over to the table to grab hold of his phone. He had a missed call and voicemail from Dave Monroe.

_Hey, boss man it's Dave Monroe. You told me to call you if I found anything, well, I found something. I'll be in the lab all day if you want to pay a visit. Later man!_

The excitement in the lab tech's voice was enough to get Steve excited.

He looked down at the woman curled against him and the excitement subsided. It would involve having to disengage himself from her, and leave her presence all together. It was getting a little harder each time to do.

"A breakthrough?" She asked him.

"Maybe. The lab guy sounded pretty excited." Steve told her.

"Great! You should go then! Find out what he's got."

"But…" Steve trailed off.

"Seriously, Steve. As much as I don't want you to go… the case is more important. I'll be here when you're done."

God, this woman was incredible. She recognized more than he the importance of the job.

"I don't want to go either… but you're right. This case needs to get solved in the next forty-eight hours. That's my goal."

Pen reluctantly extracted herself out of his arms and sat up.

"Come on then! Get up, lazy bones, and go!" She told him, arms waving.

Steve sat up and grabbed his combat boots to put back on. Once he had laced them, he looked down at himself. Maybe he should stop by his house to get a change of clothes. His looked kind of wrinkled right now.

Pen was up and out of the room. In the kitchen, she scanned her refrigerator, and ended up picking out an apple. She waited for him at the front door.

"For you. A little something for the road." She laughed as he came striding out of her room and toward the door. He smiled at her, kissed her, and grabbed the apple.

"I'll call you later." He told her. She opened the door for him, and watched from the top of the stairs as he left. God… she was hopelessly gone…

* * *

"Boss man! I didn't think you were actually going to come in." Dave greeted as Steve came into the lab. Dave had just been looking at a specimen of something through a microscope.

"You said you had something for me. Let's hear it." Steve told him, getting right down to business.

"Get this… the fingerprints of your vic that you found yesterday… Mr. Ming… matched the partials that I pulled off of both murder weapons."

"So Ming killed Williams Morris and Bud. The murder weapons are clearly tying him to the smuggling. Obviously… he had a boss."

"Yeah…" Dave put in. "Maybe this guy was trying to get out of the biz, and his partner or whatever didn't like that very much. So he was… taken care of."

"Makes sense." Steve agreed. He looked closely at the print out Dave had made of the match between the prints. "So, who murdered our murderer?"

**A/N: Well… this is the beginning of the end… sort of. A lot of things are going to start happening in subsequent chapters… and I'm pretty damn excited about it actually! **

**To my reviewers: you are all so f-ing wonderful! I seriously love you all! You make my world go 'round and if I didn't have you I probably would have stopped writing this story a long time ago. As always, extra special awesome thanks to rice117 and Gizzie1213. You guys are my rock!**


	17. Chapter 17: Taken

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Seventeen: Taken**

**Disclaimer: Me Jenn. Me no own, Hawaii Five-0. **

For the rest of the day, Pen just piddled around the apartment and cleaned and straightened. She had finally caught up with grading, and at least didn't have to do that. Steve had called a while ago and said he was doing some paperwork but that he would be by at dinnertime with Chinese.

Pen had called Kathryn too. _That_ had been a _great_ conversation. There was a lot of gushing, and a lot of fake "awww's" on Pen's part, but she still refused to tell her best friend what was going on. If Danny wanted to tell Kathryn, he could go right ahead.

She had called Rachel as well. The British woman sounded absolutely furious when Pen had told her the whole story. Rachel sounded like she was on the warpath, and Pen just let her vent. Grace even got on the phone and she had to convince her goddaughter that she was perfectly fine, and for her not to worry. Grace did sound worried. And she sounded worried about Steve as well.

"Is Uncle Stevie ok, too?" Grace had asked.

"Yes, honey, he is fine! He's going to be coming over for dinner later."

"Good! Are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend yet?"

Pen had chuckled.

"We are now, Gracie."

"YAY!" Grace had exclaimed, and Pen could tell the little girl's mood had improved ten fold.

Rachel came back on the phone still pissed sounding, but Pen had made her promise to let it be.

"It'll work itself out eventually, Rach." Pen told her. "I still love him, even though he's a bit… misguided."

"That is the biggest understatement…" Rachel had grumbled.

After a few more minutes of mindless chattering, Pen had finally gotten off the phone. And now here she was, sitting on the couch watching TV because she really had nothing else to do. She could pick up that romance novel she had just gotten from Barnes and Noble the other day, but she honestly didn't feel like reading it. She could do some more research for the journal article she was writing for the _Journal of the Classical World_, but she didn't really feel like being studious either.

It's a good thing Steve came an hour later or else Pen probably would have gone insane. That's why she kind of hated the weekends.

He dropped the bag of Chinese on her kitchen table and they sat down to dig in. He told her about the development that the murderer had been found… just not the mastermind behind the whole operation.

"You'll find him." Pen said, with every confidence in Steve and his team.

"Yeah, Dave's working overtime to get the last of some forensic evidence processed. I feel sorry for the kid, but he's refusing to stop until he's got some hard evidence pointing me to a specific person."

"Should we bring him some Chinese?" She asked.

Steve smiled.

"Already did."

They finished up the Chinese and Pen recommended a walk around the neighborhood. She hadn't really gotten out of her apartment and she was getting a little stir crazy. Steve was more than happy to oblige.

The sun was almost gone, and with it the temperature had dropped as well. Pen was glad she had put on her sweater before she had left. About halfway down the street, Steve reached down to grab her hand. With Pen's past boyfriends, there hadn't really been much public displays of affection, but she could _totally_ handle strolling down the street, hand in hand with Steve.

As many things were in Honolulu, Pen's apartment was not far from a beach. So they walked there, and removed their shoes to get their feet wet. Pen could imagine it must look like one of those annoying infomercials about CD sets of love songs where the couple is walking down the beach at sunset, wind blowing their hair and all that nonsense. Yeah, it probably really did look like that. It would normally want to make Pen vomit at the mushiness of it all, but it was different now. It actually felt genuine. Real. And Pen felt herself falling for this guy. And man did she feel like she was falling hard. It scared her because she felt out of control and she thrived on being in control of herself. But at the same time, it thrilled her, and made her hope for the future. It had only been a week since they had started this relationship, but Pen knew it was a good one. It felt really different from the others she had had.

"This reminds me…" Steve said, stopping for a second. Waves licked the sand around their feet, and the wind wiped her hair. Pen was a little concerned… high wind and curly hair didn't really go well… but Steve didn't seem to care.

"Reminds you of what?" Pen asked.

"It reminds me that… you have to show me your new bathing suit." He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows comically.

Pen rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Yes… it is a pretty fantastic bathing suit. Better than the frump suit I wore last week to your house."

"I liked your 'frump suit,' as you call it." Steve said, defending the frump suit. "You were really freaking out about it that day. I could tell."

"I was not!" Pen said, lying through her teeth.

"Uh huh… sure…"

Pen fixed him with her best glowering look and continued walking. He took two long strides to catch up with her and seized her hand again.

"Oh come on! You were so cute!"

Pen wasn't _cute_! She had never been called cute before. Then again, she had never had anyone tell her that she was beautiful either. The man was just too smooth for his own good!

They eventually circled back around to Pen's apartment. She invited him back up to stay with her for the night again, but he politely refused.

"It's not that I don't want too… I really do actually… it's just I'm probably going to go into work early tomorrow and I don't want to wake you."

Pen would have argued that she probably wouldn't be getting up much past when he needed to get up, but she kind of caught on that he was still trying to take it slow for her. And she appreciated that.

"I'm going to miss my shoulder blade pillow." She joked. He smiled and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was too short in Pen's opinion, WAY too damn short. She was so close to just saying, "Screw it" and dragging him up to her room… but on other levels she wasn't ready for that. And Danny's comment had turned her off to the idea as well. Pen stayed outside long enough to watch Steve's truck disappear out of sight. Then, she went up to prepare for her day tomorrow. Maybe she could cancel her afternoon class and surprise Steve with lunch. Her students would probably have no issues with missing one class.

* * *

Kono definitely had a case of the Mondays. It was her least favorite day of the week, her favorite being Saturday because of the good swells she usually caught at her favorite beach. Work was especially bad this fine, bright Monday morning because of the fantastic feud that was still going on between two members of Five-0. She wished that they would just get themselves together and get over it. Steve and Pen were together, and there was no stopping that. Danny just needed to apologize, and move on. But… Kono could not do anything about it.

Chin had a case of the Mondays too. He had missed his football game Saturday, and to top it off, when he went grocery-shopping Sunday, he ran into his ex. Literally, he turned a corner and ran his cart into hers. After an awkward greeting, followed by an awkward silence, Chin tactfully had given her a goodbye and walked down the next isle to get some peanut butter. The island wasn't big enough apparently.

Danny had a case of the Mondays. Well, he believed that his weekend had been totally shot to hell when it was confirmed that his best friend and partner were together. It had been over twenty-four hours since he had last talked to Pen… that was actually a long time. Usually they texted or talked on the phone. But there had been nothing. Obviously. He was still pissed! It was completely unfair that they didn't tell him they were dating, and he found it completely unfair as well that Steve didn't ask permission to see Pen.

Steve was not having a case of the Mondays. In fact, Monday was looking pretty good. He had had a great evening with his girlfriend (wow, girlfriend, that's such a great word to use with regards to Pen), found a killer (but still not the mastermind), and actually had a good night's sleep. Steve was currently sitting at his desk, trying to figure out something to get for Pen. That's what boyfriends do right, get their girlfriends things? It would be so easy to just stick his head in Danny's office and ask the man, but at the same time, not so easy. Considering that whole issue that they weren't talking because Danny was a major asshole. Steve's office phone rang, and the caller I.D. said "HPD Lab."

"McGarrett." He said, picking up the receiver.

"Hey, boss man! Are your troops assembled?" Dave Monroe asked, sounding way too chipper for a man that had basically spent the whole night here. Steve guessed coffee could do that for a person.

"Yeah, we're all here. What's up?" Steve asked.

"I wanted to give you my whole report on what all was found at the Ming crime scene Saturday evening. I thought you might like an official report. A briefing. You Navy people like that kind of stuff right?"

"Yes, especially when it involves an important case like this. We'll be down in a minute." Steve told him, and hung up.

He hopped up out of his chair and crossed over to tell Chin and Kono to rendezvous down in the forensic lab in about three minutes. Translation: Tell Danny he needs to get down there so I don't have to tell him myself.

Dave Monroe looked haggard, but he was still upright and still functioning just fine. He had pulled up a bunch of information on one of his own television screens, and waited for everyone to get situated before launching into his spiel.

"First off, just to recap past forensic evidence that we have on this case: we have partial fingerprints I lifted from both murder weapons. I have a handprint from the cargo container the second time around. Good news, sort of, is that Jin Lo Ming's prints matched the partials from the murder weapons. He was your official murderer. His fingerprints don't match the handprint though, that I am still trying to get a match for in AFIS."

Everyone nodded for Dave to continue.

"All right, some of the trace my techies and I found at the scene. There were no foreign hairs anywhere, so that was a bust. There were a couple of foreign fibers that are still being identified but they are definitely from clothing. Most likely some kind of jacket/blazer like thing. We also found some dirt from an unknown source. It didn't match any of the dirt from the potted plants in the condo, nor did it match any of the dirt from the ground around the condo. This could potentially have been tracked in by the killer. The chemical composition of the dirt could point you guys into a specific direction, unfortunately, the dirt is pretty unremarkable."

The whole time Dave was talking, he was flashing images on his television screen as visual aids. Everyone looked rapt in attention, and Dave felt very proud of himself. He may be a forensic guy for the Honolulu Police Department, but he totally loved these Five-0 guys.

"You'll be happy to know that I found the murder weapon." Dave told them, dropping the real doozy. Everyone perked up. "You may have noticed the _serious_ hardware the guy had on the wall. He had various swords and knifes from different cultures and throwing stars… all kinds of reproduction shit. My techies and I grabbed them just in case one of them had been used."

Dave then brought up a picture of a curved dagger, definitely reproduction.

"This is a ceremonial Chinese reproduction dagger. It's not a real antique so therefore is not involved with your smuggling. We _almost_ didn't catch this as the murder weapon, because whoever had done a number on this guy, wiped the knife mostly clean. But, because all of us CSIs are badass, we found some blood still left on the blade of the knife. Whoever had wiped it, didn't do as good of a job as they had thought. Really clever really, use one of the knifes on the wall, wipe it 'clean' and then put it back on the wall. Almost worked."

The young CSI spaced out for a second, thinking about something, and finally came back down to earth when Danny cleared his throat.

"Anyway… they wiped the handle too as best as they could, but that wasn't their best effort either. I was able to pull off a really good print specimen. Unfortunately, no hits in AFIS. Everyone with no priors must be going crazy all of sudden." Dave chuckled. No one else did though, so he continued on.

"I received Dr. Bergman's autopsy report as well. As he had said on scene, C.O.D. was exsanguination. He had been stabbed five times, but the poor bastard had been gutted. Whoever it was that did him in, would stab him, and then wrench the knife up and sometimes sideways. Then stab him again, and do the same thing. That's why his entire abdomen was a mess! Whoever it was that killed him, _really_ wanted him to suffer."

"That goes with your theory, Dave."

Steve said from his perch by some test tubes with weird colors in them. His arms were crossed across his powerful chest, as they usually were. "Whoever it is that's in charge must have found out Ming wanted out, and did not appreciate that."

"It would explain why he was so cruelly mutilated." Dave said. "But then again, I shouldn't say 'cruelly' because he 'cruelly' killed two people with antiques."

"Got anything else for us, Dave?" Steve asked him.

"Nothing much else, boss." Dave replied sheepishly. "I went ahead and checked this guy's phone records for you. There was nothing really out of the ordinary."

"So, all we need to do is find that person that matches those prints." Steve said, pointing to the prints on the television screen that Dave had lifted from the Chinese ceremonial dagger.

"Yeah, that's like finding a needle in a stack of needles." Danny muttered sarcastically. Steve shot him a look. And that was the first interaction that had really had since Saturday. Amazing. Steve still wanted to give Danny a mouthful of his fist though.

"I'm hoping to get the results back on the clothing fibers at some point today as well." Dave said. "It could be something unique and therefore easily able to track down an owner."

"This is great work Dave." Steve said, clapping the lab tech on the shoulder. "We really appreciate it. Now why don't you go home and get some rest or something?"

"I took a cat nap a little while ago on the cot in the office." Dave said, motioning behind him to his office. "I've got some evidence for other cases in the works still. Got to get those balls rolling…"

"I owe you a beer." Steve told him.

"Well, I won't refuse a beer, boss man."

Steve smiled.

"Send us a copy of all your findings?"

"Yes, sir." Dave saluted, doing just that. Everyone left their posts and started heading back upstairs to their offices. Where were they supposed to start looking for their killer who had killed a killer?

* * *

Pen was not having a case of the Mondays. Today had been the first day she had woken up and felt strangely invigorated. More invigorated than she had ever felt before. She had an odd spring in her step, and was saying random "hellos" to people on the street. It was that bad. TPS reports and pieces of flair be damned! Nothing could ruin her day!

She held her morning office hours as scheduled, and had sent out the email to her afternoon class informing them of the cancellation. She didn't normally do this, cancelling class for no good reason, but she figured that they deserved a break. They had been going none stop for a while.

Around ten o'clock, Kathryn came rolling into her office in her usual manner, and took her usual seat in front of Pen's desk.

"Soooo…" Kathryn grinned at her. "How was your weekend?"

"It was fine." Pen told her.

"Just fine? JUST fine? Spend anymore time with that Navy fella."

Pen sighed.

"Yes I did, if you must know."

"Danny said that Steve was going to be at brunch. How did that go over?" Kathryn had an amused look on her face, but when Pen's own expression fell, hers did too.

"What happened?" She asked.

Oh God… Pen didn't want to tell her, but she was just too transparent.

"Nothing."

"Bullshit. Tell me!" Like Pen said, transparent.

So Pen told her. And added the caveat that Pen _really_ didn't want what she was about to say to jeopardize whatever was budding between Kathryn and Danny. Kathryn looked wary but nodded all the same to go ahead with the story. She was completely shocked when Pen had finished recounting it.

"I wasn't expecting a good reaction…" Kathryn began. "… but that's just fucking ridiculous. The man should be castrated!"

"Please, Kathryn. Please don't think too badly of him now. I _really_ don't want what you guys have started to go downhill. He _really_ likes you, and you could be good for him."

"I've dated my fair share of douche bags, but what he did was just plain cruel!"

Pen sighed. She shouldn't have told Kathryn. She knew she shouldn't have.

"Just promise me to give him a second chance. Don't let on that you know. Everyone else knows."

"Fine." Kathryn agreed. "What are you doing for lunch by the way?"

"I was planning on surprising Steve with lunch. Some sandwiches from this deli he told me at some point that he liked."

"Wow! Bringing the surprise lunches! Sounds serious!"

So, on a happier note, Pen recounted the story of what had happened after the brunch, including the surfing, up to when Steve and Pen had made it official. Kathryn was totally thrilled.

"You go girl! This guy sounds legit! Don't let go of him!"

Pen laughed.

"I really don't plan on it."

"Good. Well, since you won't have lunch with me, and are instead going to 'surprise' your boyfriend, I guess I'll have to find someone else to get sustenance with me." Kathryn told Pen, standing up from her chair. They bid their goodbyes and Kathryn was out the door.

Around 12:30, Pen left her office to grab some sandwiches. Steve had commented on how they made the best Reuben's, so she got him one of those and got herself a chicken salad sandwich. Pen didn't know what kind of chips Steve would like, so she grabbed two Lay's bags. The taxi she had called for earlier was still waiting at the curb, and she told him to head to the Honolulu Police Department.

When she got there, the halls were bustling with plainclothes and uniformed officers. Some were bringing in perps in handcuffs, and some were carrying stacks of files. Pen's favorite surly sergeant was posted at the visitor's desk. He seemed to recognize her, but didn't make anymore of an effort to be polite as he had the first time.

"I assume you're going to see Detective Williams." He stated.

"Actually, I'm going to see Steve McGarrett." She told him.

He sighed and got her to fill out the necessary forms again, and when she was finished gave her a visitor's badge. She clipped it to her t-shirt (as she had decided to go casual to work that day: the usual black Chucks, jeans and a t-shirt), and followed the familiar directions to the Five-0 offices.

Maybe Pen hadn't really thought this through. Sure she wanted to surprise Steve, but Danny was going to be there. And Danny was going to see her and Steve together. And she didn't know whether Danny was going to make another scene or not. Her nerves spiked then. Yeah, definitely not well thought out. Wait a minute! She was being ridiculous! Steve was her boyfriend, and she could surprise him with lunch whenever she damn well pleased! If Danny didn't like that well… he could go to Hell.

With that thought in mind, Pen continued on down the hall (where she had previously faltered and eventually stopped mid-step), head held high. She had back up. She had Kono there! She steeled herself, took a deep breath, and stepped into the Five-0 domain. What she saw stopped her in her tracks.

In front of her, with his perfectly formed butt leaned against the touch screen computer thingy was Steve. And Steve was currently in an intimate looking lip lock with Ms. Blonde Detective Isabelle St. John. Pen immediately turned around and exited. Once back out in the hallway, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Holy God. What in the hell has she just seen? Pen began hyperventilating, and she felt like she couldn't breath. She leaned against a wall and tried to regain her composure, but it wasn't working well.

In a completely catatonic-like state, Pen began slowly walking back to the front of the building. She stopped at Mr. Surly Sergeant's post, and handed him back the visitor badge.

"Do you like Reuben's or chicken salad sandwiches?" She asked him.

He looked up at her, confused. And slightly concerned. The look on her face or the vibe she was sending off must have been cause for concern.

"Are you all right, Ms. Harrison?" He asked her.

"I don't know." She answered him truthfully. The truth was, she felt numb. Totally and completely devoid of any feeling whatsoever. She had just seen the most disturbing sight in her entire life, and she had no idea how she should be reacting to that. Needless to say, she wasn't really reacting to anything. "But do you?"

"Um… yeah, sure." He told her. The glower face gone, and now looking sympathetic.

"Here, have lunch on me." She told him, and then robotically turned and slowly walked out of the building.

Pen still felt numb. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. And that scared her. She should be angry, like she had felt with Charles. She should be sad, like she had also felt with Charles, but there was nothing.

"Hey Pen." A male voice greeted. Pen looked up and it was Chin walking towards her. "How's it hanging?"

"It's fine, Chin." Pen answered him, voice devoid of any kind of tone, inflection or emotion.

"Did you come to see Steve?" He asked her, a confused look on his face. She had been a lot more animated the last time he had met her.

"Um… yeah… now I'm going to head home. I don't feel so well, all of a sudden."

He nodded.

"Don't let me keep you then. Can I give you a ride?"

"No, thank you Chin. I'm going to… to walk home." She told him. He nodded again and watched her walk away until she was out of sight. Something was wrong with her that much was clear. Had she had another encounter with Danny? He shrugged and walked back into the police department. He had just gotten off lunch and needed to finish some paperwork.

What had just occurred had still yet to catch up with Pen. It was like after the whole Danny situation again, zombie-like, only this time she felt a million times worse. Steve had been kissing Isabelle St. John. How could Steve have been kissing her? How could he do that to Pen? Hadn't things _just_ started to get really good? Had Pen already done something to screw it up? When she turned down her street, it hit her. And she started running. Suddenly, she wanted to get into her apartment as fast as she could and not come out for a month.

Pen ran, and ran, and ran. She was out of breath by the time she reached her front stoop, and flew up the stairs to her apartment, ignoring Mrs. Smith who had just come out to tell her of a visitor Pen had. Pen didn't pay any attention and shot into her apartment, slamming the door and leaning her forehead against the rough wood. Hot tears were now flooding down her cheeks, and it felt like there was an even bigger, empty hole in her chest where her heart should be. Why? Why did it have to happen again? Steve was supposed to be different! Steve _was_ different!

And before Pen had any time to react to defend herself, strong arms came around to anchor themselves around her waist, while the other arm brought up a hand holding a cloth sopped in some sweet-smelling liquid to her mouth. Pen tried to fight her attacker, but as she breathed in whatever the liquid was, she felt weaker and her eyes drooped, and before she lost all consciousness, she heard a dull thud of her iPhone hitting the floor.

**A/N: Don't hate me! Seriously, please don't! Hahaha! Anyway, THANK YOU to my reviewers! Like seriously, I can never thank you enough! And thank you to Gizzi1213 and rice117. I SWEAR I know the difference between "waste" and "waist!"**


	18. Chapter 18: Hug it Out

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Eighteen: Hug it Out**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0… if I did… Steve would be Ponch (Estrada) and Danny would be Baker (Wilcox).**

**A/N: So, to avoid the hate a little bit (because I know you all really must hate me) I thought of a fun activity… sort of… I guess. We all like music (I hope) so, I was wondering… if you had to put together a soundtrack for Steve and Pen or any of the other connections/relationships in this fanfiction, what would you put on it? No rules or guidelines just go for it! **

About an hour after seeing Pen outside of the police department looking pretty peculiar, Chin walked back into the Five-0 offices. He had been helping with some electronic thing or another down in the crime lab, for Dave's sake. The poor lab tech could use the break, so he had filled in for him while he took his lunch.

Everyone was in their office when Chin stepped into their suite, and all were doing various things such as phone calls and paperwork. Seeing Danny made Chin flash back to seeing Pen. She had not seemed like her usual self, and he wanted to know why.

"Hey Danny." Chin greeted, popping his head into the man in question's office.

"Hey Chin. What's up?" Danny asked, sitting back in his chair away from his paperwork.

"Look, I know this whole feud thing going on isn't really any of my business, but I saw Pen outside earlier and she didn't look very well. Did you say something to her?"

"You're right, Chin. It isn't any of your business. But for your information, no, I haven't spoken to her since Saturday. She was probably here to see Steve or something."

Danny seemed irritated. Chin held his hands up in surrender and left the room.

"Hey Steve." Chin said, popping in to Steve's office now. He was going to get the truth about this Pen situation. He didn't like seeing her like that; something terrible had happened.

"Hey Chin. How's Dave?" Steve asked, motioning for the man to come in. Chin took a seat in one of the armchairs.

"He's doing a lot better now that he has some food in him. I told him to take an hour and it seemed to make him a new man."

"Good, good. I was a little worried there. I don't think the kid's been home in three days." Steve chuckled.

Chin hesitated. He was a cop. He came from a family of cops. It was in his DNA to investigate things that seemed off. He didn't always like the answers he got, and he really hoped that Steve hadn't done something to upset Pen. Chin had been thinking about it, and the more he thought of them, the more they just seemed to make sense together. He had only ever met Pen once, well twice now, but she appeared to be a good match for Steve.

"How did your visit with Pen go, today?" Chin asked, stepping out to test the waters.

Steve looked confused.

"I haven't seen her yet today."

"You haven't?" Now Chin was confused.

"No… Why?" Steve asked, the paperwork he had been working on forgotten.

"I saw her outside when I was on my way back from my lunch break. She looked out of sorts."

Steve's eyebrows furrowed.

"Danny."

"I already talked to him about it. He says he hasn't seen her since Saturday, and judging by how defensive he got, I believe him." Chin said.

"What time was that?" Steve asked, shooting out of his chair and heading out of his office. Chin hurried to catch up and told him it had been about one o'clock.

Steve left the office suite and entered the busy hallway. He was practically jogging toward the front entrance where the visitor's desk was.

"Sergeant Petro." Steve greeted the cantankerous officer as he came to a stop at the desk. He instantly took note of what the sergeant was eating and the familiar bag sitting on the desk. The sergeant looked up and nodded at Steve in greeting, finishing up a Reuben.

"You must have done a number on that girl that came in here." Petro said after swallowing. "She off loaded the lunch she had brought you and left in a hurry."

"What time did she come in?" Steve asked him, ignoring the comment he had made. Petro wiped his hands on a napkin and checked the visitor's log.

"She came in at 1255 hours."

Steve's heart instantly plummeted to his stomach. Chin was concerned at how pale his boss had just gotten. Something was not right, and Steve knew what it was. Without thanking the sergeant, Steve began slowly walking back to Five-0 offices, a far cry from his hurrying a few minutes before. Chin walked behind him, suddenly very concerned.

"What's going on, boss?" Chin asked as they walked back into Five-0.

Steve was silent for a few minutes, pacing around the touch screen computer island. What Chin didn't know, though, was that Steve was trying his hardest not to pull out his gun and shoot something. He was absolutely furious. And he was worried sick. Not a great combination.

"Chin." Steve spoke, his voice was devoid of emotion; completely icy.

"Yeah, boss?" Chin was almost afraid to ask.

"Chin, I'm going to need you to do me a favor."

"Ok." As long as it was within reason, Chin thought.

"I need you to get Detective St. John out of this building before something really bad happens to her."

Chin was completely surprised at the odd request.

"Why is that, boss?"

"Please Chin, just get this woman as far away from me as you can. Never in my life would I hurt a woman, but I will make an exception for her if she's not gone when I get back."

Steve then turned on his heel and ran into his office to grab his keys, leaving Chin still thoroughly confused.

"I'll be back." Steve told him as he ran back out of his office and out the office doors.

"Boss!" Chin said, running to get Steve's attention. Steve was already halfway down the hallway. "She said she was going home!" It didn't take a detective to figure out where Steve was going.

Steve, not breaking stride, lifted his arm in acknowledgement of hearing Chin.

When he walked back into Five-0, Danny was still in his office, making some phone calls now, and Kono was typing up a report.

"Cuz?" Chin asked, going into Kono's office and shutting the door. "Something's up with McGarrett."

Kono snorted.

"I wouldn't be surprised. You should have seen him earlier, he looked like he was seriously going to shoot something."

"Why?" Chin asked.

"That dumb chick, St. John, came on to him and practically jumped him."

"_What_?"

Kono looked up from her computer screen and noticed Chin's concerned look.

"What's going on?"

"McGarrett asked me to get St. John as far away from him as he could. I think this has something to do with Pen. So, what happened?"

"I was in the conference room making some copies and I saw and heard the whole thing."

"WHAT THING?" Chin asked again, getting more and more frustrated by the minute not knowing what was going on.

"Like I said… St. John came in to Five-0…"

_Kono was standing in the conference room, making some copies of reports. From where she stood, she was able to see outside into the main part of their offices. Steve was searching some information on the computer and compiling it all into a file for later viewing. He was a SEAL after all, and valued organization. Kono was like that too. Even the clothing in her closet was color coordinated. She heard the doors open and looked up to see Detective Isabelle St. John sauntering in. That was the only way she could describe it. It wasn't normal walking, that much was for sure. _

"_Hey Steve." Kono heard her greeting, with her fake thousand-watt smile that made Kono want to puke from the sugariness of it. Kono had worked with St. John before, and although she was a good cop, there was still something very off about her that Kono absolutely hated. _

"_Detective St. John." Steve acknowledged. Kono could tell by the tone of his voice he really wasn't in the mood to see her. Kono didn't blame him._

"_I was just coming to see the progress of your case with the ancient weapons." She said. _

"_It's going." Was his short reply._

"_Can I see all the info you've gotten?" She pushed. Kono heard Steve take a deep breath, and began running through the series of events that had occurred over the past couple of days and the evidence that had been processed. He brought some of the things up on the screens and was pointing things out to her. Maybe he was just trying to see if a fresh set of eyes could catch something no one else had caught._

_After he was done, St. John stood there for a while, looking thoughtful._

"_I don't know what to tell you. This case is definitely baffling." She admitted. _

_Kono sighed at the same time Steve did. What a waste of time that was! Kono watched as he walked back over to the computer and began moving things back into the proper file. Kono couldn't believe it when St. John walked behind Steve and put her hands on his shoulders, gently massaging them before Steve stood abruptly and shook her hands off of him. Kono wanted to go out there and punch that pretentious bitch in the face. What in the hell was blondie thing?_

"_What are you doing?" Steve asked St. John, moving around the computer, further away from her. Seeing Steve retreating from the detective, Kono tried to decide whether to step in and save the poor guy. But she decided to hang back, and let the boss man handle it. _

"_I just wanted to show you a _real _woman. Not that mousy professor you're with." Izzy told him, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. _

_Steve was pissed. Kono was pissed. Kono could just imagine how tired he must be of people talking shit about Pen. Could people just not get through their thick skulls that he was _very clearly_ happy with Pen, and that wasn't going to change _any_ time soon? _

"_You need to leave." He gritted out. She huffed, like he had just greatly insulted her, and walked around the computer to go back out the front doors. Steve heaved a sigh and turned around to focus back on the computer, but he was suddenly wrenched around, pushed up against the computer table, and then had the blonde detective's lips forced onto his. _

_Kono gasped and could not believe what she was witnessing. She was already half way out of the conference room door when Steve shoved St. John off of him. Kono stopped dead._

"_What the fuck is your problem?" He roared. Her answering smirk just infuriated him even more. "Get the Hell out of here."_

_With a satisfied grin on her face (because that's how Kono would have described it), she turned and skipped… _skipped…_ out of the room. Steve wiped at his mouth furiously with the back of his hand and disappeared into the bathroom where Kono heard him turn on the faucet. A few seconds later, she heard the tell tale sound of bristles against teeth. She didn't blame him for wanting to wash away any trace of that woman. She was a disease, and she had just tried to poison Steve. Kono returned to finish her copies and walked back to her office. She hoped Steve talked to St. John's superior about this, and got her suspended or something. If Kono had a say, St. John would be put in front of a firing squad and shot!_

"Oh crap." Chin said, after Kono had finished the story. He finally put all the pieces together. Pen had seen. She had seen the split second kiss and had left before she could see Steve throwing that idiotic blonde girl off of him. Pen thought Steve was with someone else. Chin shared his suspicions with Kono. This was not good. Not good at all.

* * *

This was an absolute misuse of the blue lights on this unmarked police car that Steve had commandeered, but he didn't give a flying fuck. He needed to get to Pen, and he needed to tell her that what she had seen was not what she had seen. Steve was zooming in and out of the cars that were trying to get out of his way, but to him the car couldn't go fast enough. He had already wasted a precious hour during which he knew Pen would be sitting and thinking… over thinking and over analyzing things as she does. He couldn't lose her because of this blonde idiot detective that is nine kinds of crazy. He didn't know what he would do if he lost Pen over Isabelle St. John. He probably should have asked Chin to take his gun away from him. And the knife that he kept in his boot. And the smaller gun that he kept strapped to his ankle.

He almost flipped the car with the sharp turn he took down Pen's street, and he did a parallel park job that would have impressed even Elwood Blues. Hell, he would have been impressed with himself if he wasn't feeling so frantic right now. He threw the door open, not even bothering to shut it, and took the front stairs three at time. He banged on the door, hoping Mrs. Smith would hear him. Sure enough, the older woman came to the door. The smile on her face showed she was happy to see him.

"Well hello there, young man." She greeted.

"Hey, Mrs. Smith. Is Pen home?" He asked her.

"She was, but she may have gone out with her brother."

Steve had already started going up the stairs, and he stopped on the third step.

"Her brother?" Steve asked.

"Yes, very nice young man, he was here to surprise her I guess."

Just then, Steve's phone rang, and he groaned in frustration.

"Go ahead, son. I know you're a busy man." Mrs. Smith told him, waiting patiently still at the bottom of the stairs.

"McGarrett!" He yelled.

"Sorry, if I'm interrupting, boss man." Dave said from the other end of the line. "But I got the fiber results back. It's a specific kind of silk only used to make Armani suits. Hope that helps you."

Steve didn't even bother to thank Dave before he hung up on him. Armani suits? He only knew one person involved even remotely with this case that wore Armani suits. That idiot Eric Peterson.

"Mrs. Smith. What did Pen's brother look like?" He asked, trying to quell the fear he felt rising up in his gut.

"He was handsome. Had blue eyes and blonde hair." She told him. Steve knew by a picture (and conversations they had had) that her older brother, Gabriel, had dark hair and dark eyes.

Steve didn't even think, he raced up the rest of the stairs and started banging on the door, calling out Pen's name. But there was no answering scream, and no one coming to unlock the door. Again, without thinking, Steve pulled his gun, lifted his leg, and kicked open the door. He began clearing the apartment as fast as he could, and his worst fears had been answered. No one was there.

He walked back into the front part of the apartment, and noticed Pen's cell phone flung on the floor along with a washcloth. He bent down to pick up her phone, and put a glove on (always be prepared, he had been a Boy Scout after all) to examine the cloth. It reeked of chloroform. She was gone. She had been kidnapped, he was so sure of that. And it was Eric Peterson that had done it. Steve could have kicked himself. He should have known. He should not have written off the idiot persona that the man had put on. Steve was so afraid. He was never one for fear, you learned to tamp it down in the SEALs, but he was terrified now. He was terrified for Pen. And he was terrified she would be hurt because of him.

Steve lifted his phone to his ear, and spoke hollowly once Chin answered.

"Put out an APB on Eric Peterson. He's kidnapped Pen."

* * *

Danny was freaking the fuck out. Chin had just announced a whopper of a newsflash and all he could feel was sheer panic. Pen was kidnapped! Pen was kidnapped by that pansy ass business owner.

Then came the fury. Pen had been fucking abducted by that dickless little swine!

He was pacing now, wearing a path in the floor. This was his fault. It was _all_ his fault. He had underestimated the involvement of that namby-pamby Harvard graduate, and now, Pen could get hurt. Pen could already be hurt. He couldn't live with himself if that were the case. What if… what if something had happened to her, and the last thing he had said to her was… well… something really awful?

What had he done?

His best friend in the entire world was gone, and he didn't know whether they would ever get her back. And the last thing he had ever said to her was that she was a whore? What the fuck had he been thinking? She was _far_ from a whore! She used to talk about becoming a nun when she was a kid because she had never met a good guy, for Christ's sake! He was an asshole. That was putting it mildly. He was the dickless wonder that cruelly bashed his best friend all because he hadn't like the fact that nobody told him that his partner and she were together. What was _wrong_ with him? And why did it take her getting kidnapped to pull his head out of his ass?

Danny wanted to know why he hadn't gotten his ass kicked by Steve yet. He sure as hell deserved it. He wanted it, actually, as atonement for both Steve and Pen. He knew it had to happen before he and Steve could move forward and function as a team again. It was the "guy" way of dealing with things, beat each other up and BAM, move on, everything's peachy again.

Steve came racing in a few minutes later looking absolutely out of his mind. Whether with worry, anger or just plain craziness, Danny didn't know. But he had never seen the SEAL look this… scared. He looked _scared_! This was crunch time now. Time was precious, and most of it had to be focused on finding Pen and getting the son of a bitch that took her. If Danny wanted to get anything accomplished… this had to go down now.

"Boss, I've got the APB out on Eric Peterson and Pen. I called in to Peterson's office and his secretary said that he had taken the day off." Chin said, as Steve started wringing his hands and walking all around the room. Kono and Chin were worried. Their fearless leader was not looking so fearless right now, and he had good reason.

Steve couldn't think. He was having a hard time making sense of his thoughts. They were all over the freaking place, and he couldn't calm down enough to take a step back, breath, and get his shit together. It was imperative that he get himself together because Pen was counting on him to be on his fucking A-game to find her and bring her home. Speaking of, when he found her, and that was a big WHEN, he was going to bring her to his house and lock her in his room and never let her leave.

"Stephen."

Steve was finally able to stop moving long enough to look up and see that Danny was actually speaking to him. Steve felt his eyebrows furrow and his vision legitimately turned red for a split second. It was an irrational thought, but Steve wanted to blame Danny for this. He wanted someone to blame. Steve himself was the number one person, but Steve couldn't really do physical harm to himself and feel satisfied enough.

"Stephen." Danny spoke again. "You need to calm down."

He was being asked to calm down? _Calm down_? The red filter over his eyes came again. Why was it that the man that had spoken such ill words about Pen was telling him to calm down? Steve couldn't help it.

A resounding _thud_ filled the room as Steve gave a fistful of his hand to Danny's mouth. Danny's head snapped back and he stumbled a little. Kono gasped and was about to jump in but Chin stopped her.

"Let them go." He simply said, and they both stood back to watch whatever happened next.

Danny straightened himself, and swung his arm wide (and high, considering he's short) to get a good hit in on Steve. This served to piss off the SEAL even more, and he came back with a jab to Danny's stomach.

Kono could not believe this was happening. Danny and Steve were now having a knock down, drag out fight right in Five-0. What in the hell was with men? When woman were mad at each other, they would forgive the other person and pretend to be friends, but on the inside they hated each other. Men, well, men throw a couple of swings and their problems were solved. Except this wasn't a couple of swings.

Danny used his small height to run at Steve's mid section and tackled him to the ground. They scuffled and rolled around, until Steve over powered Danny and just started going at whatever he could hit.

"Can we stop them now?" Kono asked, and Chin nodded. Both cousins ran to the fighting men and Chin pulled Steve off, who flailed around for a second, trying to get free to go at the New Jersian again.

"You're a god damned asshole, Williams!" Steve shouted. He had a split lip from Danny's attempts, but it was Danny that had a black eye and a split lip and a gash that had opened above his eyebrow. It was a good thing that his nose hadn't been touched (and therefore didn't break) and it was a good thing he didn't have a tooth knocked out either. Kono helped him sit up, and stand as well.

"If you weren't such a fucking hot head, Pen and I would have been more comfortable telling you about us!" Steve shouted again. Chin still had a hold on him just in case he attacked again. Although, Chin had no doubt the SEAL could incapacitate him in a second if he wanted.

"She was scared to tell you because she had no idea how you would react! And how you reacted was _exactly_ what she was scared of!"

Steve may have been pulled off physical violence mode, but he was now on emotional violence mode.

"Do you like her?" Danny gasped out, still out of breath from the fight.

"I think…" Steve said, softer this time. "I think I could love her, man."

Danny sighed.

"I'm sorry, Steve. I overreacted. Even for me, the King of Overreaction, that was a major overreaction. Pen has been hurt by guys less rough than you, and I didn't want another repeat. You're my partner, and…" This next part practically killed Danny to say, but it was true. "… I trust you with my life. But I didn't know if I could trust you with one of the things that is more important to me than my life."

There was silence in the room except the heavy breathing of the two men that had just gone two rounds in the ring. Maybe that whole guy mentality of fighting it out rather than talking it out really worked, Steve thought. He felt a whole lot better about the Danny situation now, and felt that he had his partner back. The thoughts in his head had cleared up, and he knew that he could make decisions again.

Steve shook off Chin's arms, and held his arms up to signal that he wasn't going to attack again. Chin let him go.

"I would never hurt her." Steve told Danny. Even though he unintentionally already had because of not being able to really get rid of a meddlesome blonde biddy. "She… everything with her is different."

Danny nodded. Those were almost the exact words he had used with Rachel. And then, things had felt even more different when he had met Kathryn. Steve wasn't looking for a shore leave booty call like it had been with Catherine. Danny could tell that he wanted something more. And for the big, bad, Navy SEAL to want something like that with Pen… well… who was he to get in their way?

"She's not like anyone I've ever met." Steve continued. "The guys that must have really done a number on her… for her to be so wary… were complete and total bastards. They have no idea what they threw away. But I guess, no matter how much I would love to track them down and beat the shit out of them, I should thank them. If she had never left them, I wouldn't have her now."

Danny could just picture Steve using his SEAL skills to track down Charles, the shyster lawyer asshole. When all was said and done and they had Pen back, Danny might have to put that little suggestion in Steve's brain to do anyway.

"Well… not that it matters or should matter… you guys have my blessing."

Steve chuckled. Some nerve this guy had.

"I'm sure that would mean a lot to Pen to hear." Steve told him. Danny nodded, and hobbled over to Steve. What comes after a fight in which two men have now settled their differences? Answer: it was time to hug it out. Although, it would be really weird and awkward considering the height differences, but Danny went in for the kill anyway. He thought he was going to get attacked again, but they put their arms around each other (in the manliest way possible of course) and pounded each other on the back.

Kono and Chin sighed in relief. Finally the team was back together again.

"All right." Danny spoke again. "Let's go find your girl."

**A/N: Ok, a concession. Pen getting kidnapped; for Steve and Danny to like each other again? That ok with everyone? … Yeah, I know it's not REALLY ok, but that's all I'm giving you right now, heehee. Don't forget about the whole soundtrack thing if you have ideas! I'm curious to see what you all would pick. **

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my reviewers, even though you really hate me right now. I hope that changes by the end of the story! Thank you to rice117 and Gizzie1213 for being amazing. Just amazing! Haha.**


	19. Chapter 19: Jones and Croft

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Nineteen: Jones and Croft **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0… if I did I wouldn't bring in a possible 5****th**** member of the team… the dynamic is already good enough! **

**A/N: Ok, so, the cursing is going to pick up a little more, I'm just realizing. If I was kidnapped, I'd be pissed and probably start cursing more too… but maybe that's just me…**

The first thing Pen realized when she came to was that her head was pounding. It felt like someone was taking a jackhammer to her skull and putting it on full throttle. She felt groggy too, and on top of the pain, her head felt fuzzy. Not to mention the crick in her neck from how her chin had been resting on her chest for God knew how long. The joys of being knocked unconscious with some tranquilizing agent or other.

Slowly, to not suddenly blind herself with light and make her headache worse, Pen opened one eye and then the other. She had expected to be in some dark, dank basement with filth everywhere and a constantly dripping pipe. On the contrary, she was in a small room, about the size of her living room, with high ceilings that reminded her of a warehouse. She was sitting in a frightfully uncomfortable metal armchair to which her arms and legs were tied. It was pushed against a wall, and to relieve the pain in her neck just a bit, she rested her head against the concrete. Next to her in a corner was a cot with bed sheets. Next to the bed was a small table with a battery-powered lamp. On the wall across from Pen was a door and next to the door was a table with a case of water bottles and a few packs of crackers.

Pen looked to her right this time, and Kathryn was tied to a chair a couple of feet away from her, also against the wall. She was still knocked out, judging by how her head was situated. Pen sighed. Son of a bitch! What in the hell was going on? Why were she AND Kathryn here?

Pen should be terrified. She recognized this, but she felt strangely calm. Almost like it was an everyday occurrence being chloroformed and tied up to a chair. Pen missed this class in her educational career: "How to Survive Kidnapping and Torture 101." Now she was joking around? Something was seriously wrong. Maybe the chemical used to subdue her fried some cells in her brain and she had gone loony. Or maybe it was her survival instincts kicking in and it was either fight or flight. After the sucky afternoon she had had, she preferred fight.

The ropes that were tying her to the chair were starting to burn her arms and rub them raw. She was surprised the circulation hadn't been cut off, but her hands were still healthy looking and not blue. She took this opportunity to look over the room again to see if she could divine the identity of her and Kathryn's captor. Nothing. Everything was gray and plain and concrete. She then strained to see if she could hear anything on the other side of the door. But, again, concrete surrounded them, and the door looked like it was made of Adamantium or something.

Translation: They were fucked. Really, and truly fucked.

She didn't know how long she sat there, wallowing in her own self pity and depressing thoughts about how she was never going to see sunlight or Grace again. When that way of thinking ran dry, she tried coming up with a way for them to escape. But, she realized something pretty darn key: they weren't James Bond. Kathryn and she were not Charlie's Angels. And neither of them sure as hell were Navy SEAL Steve McGarrett. Oh God. Bad idea. Hot tears pricked the corners of Pen's eyes. How could he have been locking lips with that snake woman?

No! No, she can't think about him right now. All she needed to be thinking about was her survival and getting the hell out of this place alive. She tried to strain at her bonds, both arms and legs, but nothing gave. Great.

It seriously felt like she had been sitting there for hours. Kathryn had yet to stir from her own chloroform induced coma, and Pen was beginning to worry. She had tried calling to her a couple of times but she got nothing.

Just then, she heard the sound of a bunch of locks being thrown, and the door swung wide and in stepped the person she had least suspected. Although, in truth, she really should have known.

Eric Peterson.

He was a handsome devil. Emphasis on the devil part. His hair looked impeccably styled and his trademark Armani suit was tailored and pressed. There were seriously no wrinkles on that thing. He had a really demonic looking smile on his face. It really held no warmth or empathy at all.

The person that walked into the room after him, shutting the door behind them was actually the biggest shocker. Pen had _not_ seen that one coming, truly.

Detective Isabelle St. John.

Who also happened to be sporting a diabolical smile. Except she really looked like she wanted Pen to suffer for whatever reason. Great. Not only had Steve been necking with some girl that wasn't Pen, he was necking with some CRAZY girl that wasn't Pen. Great. Juuuuust great.

Both came to a stand still about three feet from where Pen and Kathryn sat. St. John leaned against Peterson like… well… like they were lovers. Another thing Pen should have probably seen coming.

Ladies and Gentleman… Mr. and Mrs. Lucifer Morningstar.

And the part that made Pen swallow in fear was that they were looking at her like they wanted to possess her or something… or steal her soul… or eat her… or just plain old kill her.

"Good to see you, Dr. Harrison." Eric greeted, almost like they were back at the café and not in some random room with Pen tied to a chair. "Sorry to have brought you and Kathryn here in such a violent way."

He wasn't sorry at all.

Eric walked over to Kathryn, and shook her shoulder.

"Dr. Murphy. Dr. Murphy it's time that you join us back in the land of the living." He cooed at her. Pen wanted to shout something like "Don't touch her, you freak!" but she didn't think that would have gone over well. Kathryn groaned, and Pen sighed in relief. At least she wasn't hurt or something. Her head lolled a couple of times before she became fully conscious.

"Thank you for joining us, Dr. Murphy." Eric smiled at her once her eyes had snapped open. Kathryn looked around frantically until she saw Pen.

"What the Hell is going on?"

"I was just going to ask that myself." Pen said.

Eric kneeled down in front of Pen, putting his hands on her knees. His touch made her sick to her stomach and no matter how much she squirmed, she couldn't get them off of her. The malevolent twinkle in his eyes and the small smirk on his face showed that he knew how uncomfortable she was, and reveled in it.

"I need you ladies to do something for me." He told her.

"Gee, if you needed a favor all you had to do was pick up the phone!" Pen quipped. He chuckled.

"I could have. But in our last interaction, I had this distinct feeling you wanted to get away from me. That hurt my feelings, you know. I thought we were friends!"

Friends? Psh. When Hell froze over!

"Man, you really know how to pick 'em." Kathryn joked to Pen. Pen just shot her a look.

"What do you want with us?" Pen gritted out through clenched teeth. He stood and back up a couple of steps to stand next to Isabelle.

"I need you ladies to authenticate and give some history on a few items that have come into my possession."

"You mean items that you've STOLEN?" Kathryn sneered.

Eric thought on that one a minute.

"Stolen? Nah, I like to think of it as procuring. Do you know how many people will pay A LOT of money to own an authentic Celtic war helmet? It's in the millions." He replied, actually looking _excited_ at the prospect of all this money.

"You make me fucking sick." Pen spat. Isabelle stepped forward and actually _backhanded_ Pen. Pen's head snapped to the side as pain radiated through her cheek. She couldn't believe that just fucking happened! TOTALLY uncalled for! This blondie is going to steal Pen's man AND slap her? Pen made a promise to God and all else paying attention to her thoughts that this bitch was going to get's what coming to her.

If there was ever a time to do it, now was the time to start channeling Pen's favorite pop culture predecessors of the world of history: Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. It was time to act tough, and be sarcastic as hell, and give them plenty of cheek. Even if it meant getting slapped by the Bitch Wonder… all the more reason to cut off her head when she got out of here.

"Don't ever touch me again." Pen warned Isabelle.

"What are you going to do to me?" Asked the blonde. "You're the one tied to the chair."

A minor technicality.

"That bitch is the one that knocked me out!" Kathryn exclaimed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was." Pen muttered.

The smile that Isabelle kept sporting was really starting to annoy the living piss out of Pen. It was like she was some machine that didn't give a fuck about what she had done or what she was doing.

"Why us?" Pen asked. "Why not just Kathryn?"

After that last part, she sent a smile to Kathryn just so her friend knew she was just joking. Kathryn rolled her eyes, and sent her the middle finger. Ah, the things you could still do with your fingers when your wrists were tied.

"Because, you passed my test." Eric replied.

Pen had a flashback to when she and Kathryn had gone to his house and looked at the Minerva statue. It had been a test? He knew all that information all along, but he wanted to make sure that they were right? Mother. Fucker.

"Son of a bitch." She muttered to herself. Isabelle raised her hand, and Pen flinched and braced for impact but it didn't come. She looked up at the blonde, who just smiled and giggled. GIGGLED.

"Why are you doing all of this?" Kathryn asked. Pen really wanted to know too. Pen wanted to know what kind of person could steal people's cultural heritage and be able to sleep at night. Pen wanted to know what kind of person could let two people… actually three… be murdered in pursuit of _business_.

"Money." Eric answered, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Pen wondered if this was the part in the movie where the villain started his monologue on what his evil master plan is and how the protagonist is going to die painfully and yada yada yada. Sure enough… he started talking again… he must like the sound of his own voice. Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking this.

"Great… you're going to start the monologuing now." Kathryn complained. "I TOLD you, you can pick 'em!" That last part was for Pen. This time, Pen was able to return the one fingered wave.

Eric decided to ignore them.

"It's not like I invented antiquities smuggling, you know! People have been doing it for centuries! The Romans, crusaders, Napoleon, soldiers in Iraq! I'm just getting on the bandwagon!"

Pen was getting a little sick at the face that Isabelle was making at Eric. She had that lost puppy look like she was just totally enthralled by him. Pen wanted to know what the Hell it was about that guy that had people falling all around him. He's a total douche nozzle!

"I've never been a history buff myself, but I first heard about the illicit trade when I was at Harvard. My roommate and best friend was an International Business major. I ended up back here and he made it to Italy working with his father's firm. We sort of… came up with an extra-legal business… and it's worked well so far."

This was the most absurd story Pen had ever heard. So… two bored rich kids thought up some lame ass business to get _richer_? These damn silver spoon children are a menace to society. He could've just done drugs or something and not committed some international crime!

"The guy you had doing your dirty work is dead now. Why did you kill him?" Pen asked.

"Jin wanted out. I couldn't let that happen and risk him doing something… rash. So, I took care of him myself this time." He seemed pretty damned pleased with himself, taking a life and all. REALLY bored rich kid.

"Why do you need us to 'authenticate' things?" Pen asked scornfully. "Don't you have some evil professor of Ancient History around here somewhere?" And to add to the cheekiness, Pen swiveled her head as best as she could as if she was looking for the imaginary person, over looking Kathryn on purpose.

"It looks like you're it." Eric shrugged, like it was no big deal. "You guys do this for us, and we might let you go."

Yeah right. That was a big negative. There was no way she and Kathryn were going to get out of this alive. Not after the circumstances that the previous three people died in. _One_ was in the wrong place at the wrong time, _one_ had messed up somehow, _one_ had wanted out, and now _they_ had seen and heard too much. Her bravado was wavering. She didn't think she was going to be able to get out here now.

"And what if we don't want to do anything for you? What are you going to do? Kill us?" She hoped that sounded vaguely like she didn't mind dying. But she wasn't sure. She wasn't sure if Kathryn wouldn't mind dying either.

"I was actually hoping you would say that." He said, with a smile that Pen REALLY didn't like. He motioned to Isabelle, who smiled widely as well, and she left the room for a second.

When Isabelle returned, Pen's worst fears were realized. She HAD to survive now.

* * *

Just when Danny thought the day couldn't get any worse… he got the call.

"Daniel!" Was the frantic reply that he got when he answered his phone. "Daniel, Grace is missing!"

Danny couldn't even begin to try and process the words Rachel was saying.

"Wait… what?"

"Grace is missing Daniel! I went to pick her up at school, but she wasn't there! Someone took her Daniel! And I don't know what to do." Rachel dissolved into sobs. He hardly knew what to do anymore.

"Rachel… Rachel…" He practically had to shout to be heard over her cries. The sound alone was ripping his heart in two. "Rachel calm down! Don't worry; I'm going to take care of this. I'll find her! Just go home, calm down, and I'll call you when I find something out."

"Oh, please Daniel. _Please_ find her!"

"Don't worry, Rach. I will."

Oh fuck. What was he going to do? Security cameras. There had to be some outside. Something had to have been caught on tape.

"What's wrong?" Kono asked him. She stood next to him looking over some print outs on Eric Peterson.

"Grace is missing. I have a really bad feeling she was taken too."

"Grace is missing?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, Rachel said she went to her school to pick her up but she wasn't there. Grace knows better than to wonder off. Someone took her. I'm going down to the school to look at the security footage."

"I'll come with." Steve said.

"Nah, man, it's ok. I've got this."

"I can't sit here anymore, man."

Danny nodded. He understood.

"Chin, Kono, you guys keep compiling the list of assets and properties that Peterson owns. Dig deeper too. Look at any company connected to Oahu Shipping. He could have more properties listed under dummy corporations. Wherever he has Pen is where he's also keeping the antiques. He has to be. He won't want it public, so look in the most obscure places." Steve instructed them. Both nodded their understanding.

A few minutes later, Steve and Danny were riding in silence towards Grace's school. Inwardly, Danny was a complete and total wreck. They had his little girl now too. They had his _daughter_! Danny didn't care anymore, someone was going to get fucking shot.

"She's going to be ok man." Steve said, trying to comfort Danny and himself, really. "Grace is a strong and brave little girl. And Pen will never let anything happen to her."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Danny admitted. "How far is Pen willing to go? Pen will make the ultimate sacrifice for Grace. I know her… she wouldn't hesitate one bit."

Great, something Steve didn't really want to hear about his girlfriend. He was going to be really pissed off if his girlfriend went and did the noble thing before he could get there to save her ass.

The principal was shocked to say the least, when Danny and Steve showed up on the property. Police officers didn't normally show up at her school, especially cops that looked _really_ beat up. She was very distraught to hear about the disappearance of Grace Williams, so she quickly let them into the security office to take a look at their security cameras. They found the footage for that afternoon and began viewing it.

"Whoa, whoa! Steve, go back a couple minutes." Danny said, pointing at something in the corner of the screen. Steve did so, and paused the tape. There was a black Mercedes and someone leading Grace to it… someone really familiar.

"Is that…?" Steve asked, but trailed off.

"It sure as fuck looks like it. And that bitch has my daughter."

Danny was out the door and halfway down the hall before Steve could stop him. At the door to the security office, he turned and looked back at the screen one last time. Isabelle St. John was leading Grace toward the Mercedes. That blonde bitch must have used the fact that she was a cop at Grace's dad's work to get the little girl to trust her. Steve shook his head and ran down the hallway after Danny. If St. John was working with Peterson, then St. John had Penny. That was it. Steve was going to fucking shoot her when he found her.

* * *

Danny was going to shoot her! He was going to hunt her down and shoot her in the face! Never, _ever_ trust a pretty face… especially when there was all kinds of crazy behind it!

Danny and Steve rushed back into Five-0 to share the news with Kono and Chin. Both were surprised, but at the same time not really.

"Dammit. I got her out of the building just you had asked me too, boss. I'm sorry." Chin said. Earlier, when Steve had left in a hurry, Chin had gone in search of Detective Isabelle St. John. He found her at her desk in the bullpen, and with his special policing skills, he was able to get her to leave and go home for the day. Chin really didn't want to have to clean blood off the floor. That would have been a huge mess.

All four members of Five-0 gathered around the touch screen computer to put their heads together. They only had so much time left. Who knows what Peterson and St. John could be doing to Pen… and Gracie.

"Why take Grace?" Kono asked.

"Because she's extremely important to Pen." Danny stated.

"So, in situations like that, people like Grace are used as an 'If, then' kind of thing. If Pen doesn't do something for them, then they will… hurt Grace." Chin supplied.

Danny's blood turned ice cold. The thought of the two most important people in his life being lost in one afternoon… he couldn't think about that. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something bad happened to the both of them. He just… couldn't.

"What on earth would Peterson want with Pen?" Kono asked.

There was silence between the four for a while, the only sound coming from the whirring of the computers and screens that filled the room. Why would Peterson need Pen? Pen was a professor. Pen was a professor of Ancient stuff. Pen was really good at identifying artifacts…

"He's using her for the smuggled products." Steve said, as if a light bulb moment.

"What do you mean?" Chin asked this time.

"Pen is our unofficial consultant on all things Ancient. She was able to identify and place in time, the two murder weapons. For Peterson to sell his products, he's got to have some prior knowledge of what it is he's selling, where it has been, and who may or may not have touched it." Steve said.

"And, that bullshit about her and Kathryn going to his house to take a look at a piece he had bought in Rome… it was probably a test…" Danny interjected. "Wait… Kathryn! Oh shit! I've got to call Kathryn!"

Danny stepped away from the little huddle they were having, pulled up Kathryn on his contacts list and hit send. Her cell phone went immediately to voicemail. He didn't like that. On their date, Kathryn had said that she always kept her phone on because she was too addicted to her Blackberry. For it to be off was worrying Danny. Especially after Pen's kidnapping… two historians made better than one… especially when one was an Art Historian… the more qualified of the two. Danny got back to the huddle.

"She didn't answer. I'll run out and check her apartment, but I don't have a good feeling." And then he shared the thought he had just had with them. They all agreed that Kathryn was the more important out of the two, but having two made things go faster.

"I hate to be Debbie Downer here…" Kono said, wanting to give her input into this conversation. "… but if this is all true, if we don't find Pen and Kathryn before they're done with all the stolen goods, the bad guys are going to kill them. They've seen too much and know all involved in the scheme."

Steve hated to admit it, but Kono was right. If Steve didn't get to Pen in time, she was screwed and so was Kathryn. There was no way in Hell he was going to let that happen. He needed to find Pen, and set the record straight about this Isabelle St. John business. She probably really thought worse of Steve now that she knew that St. John was in on all this nonsense.

"All right, Chin, what do we have on properties?" Steve said, wanting to steer the subject away from death. Death was not an option. _Failure_ was not an option.

"A lot of information is still coming in, but I've narrowed it down to a few places. They're all warehouses, all big enough to store a lot of smuggled goods."

"Good, in about five minutes, we're going to move out and hit every single one of them until we find them, or until we get some tip or clue or whatever that points us to the right one. Everyone suit up and get prepared."

Upon Steve's order, everyone dispersed to grab their extra gun and their bulletproof vests. Time was of the essence now. They needed to get to the girls before they ran out of things to authenticate. Who knows how long ago they had started the process, or if they had started at all?

Just when Danny didn't think he could take anymore, he realizes that his would be girlfriend has been kidnapped too. On the way to their first warehouse, they did a sweep of Kathryn's apartment and didn't find her. He kept trying her cell phone, but it still went straight to voicemail. This was all too much… but he now had to remain calm for three important women.

* * *

"Aunt Pen!" Grace exclaimed when the little girl saw Pen. She wrenched herself from Isabelle's grasp and ran to Pen to hug her. "What's going on, Aunt Pen, why are you tied to that ch—" But she never finished because Isabelle yanked Grace by the arm violently away from Pen. Pen winced, afraid that Isabelle had pulled Grace's arm out of her socket or something.

"Grace! You fucking bitch, take your god damn hands off her!" Pen yelled. It was one thing to back hand her, but it was another thing to lay a hand on Grace. Oh, this bitch was going to die. She was going to die slowly and painfully, and Pen would be way more than happy to make it happen.

Isabelle lightened her grip on Gracie, and placed the little girl in front of her, resting her hands on Grace's little shoulders. She was back to smiling.

"Wait? Grace? As in your goddaughter Grace? As in Danny's daughter?" Kathryn rambled.

"Yes, yes that's Grace." Pen said. God she felt so fucking frustrated. She couldn't do a damn thing.

"Ooo, I really like this turn of events. This is a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be." Eric commented from the post he had taken up by the table.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Pen. I know you and Daddy and Mommy always told me not to talk to strangers. But she had a badge, Aunt Pen. And she told me that Daddy was waiting for me at the police department because something bad had happened and I needed to go there." Grace whimpered out, her nose sniffling and her doe eyes watering. Pen would do anything to have Grace out of this Hell hole. To see the pain and fright stricken from her eyes and her face.

"You're a movie fan, aren't you, Dr. Harrison?" Eric asked Pen. She tore her gaze from Grace's and looked over at the asshole that had suddenly made Pen's life completely unbearable.

"Yes." Pen replied, hot tears again threatening to spill down her cheeks. They were tears of frustration this time, and total helplessness. How was she supposed to help Grace when she couldn't even help herself?

"Then you must know what my next comment is going to be." Peterson told her.

Pen knew. She sure as shit knew. But she didn't want to say it out loud, because if she did it really meant that this was really happening, that Grace was in some serious danger.

"If we don't do what you ask…" Pen choked out around tears that were dripping one by one down her face. "… you're going to hurt Grace."

"Exactly, Dr. Harrison. You're goddaughter is very important to you, yes? As long as you and Dr. Murphy cooperate, we'll let the girl live. Capice?"

Pen wanted to bash his too attractive head in. He was making her go against every moral that made up her DNA to further the exploitation of such cultural historical importance that was hidden who knew where in this warehouse. And he was making her do it with a gun most likely pointed at her head. And more terrifying, he was making her do it with a gun pointed at Grace's head.

"If we do this… I want Grace with us at all times. I want to be able to see her and hear her and make sure she's ok. You have to give me your word that when we're done with what you want us to do, that you'll let her go unharmed and safely."

Eric nodded.

"I think we can arrange that. Isabelle will be with you the whole time though, just to keep an eye on you. I don't fully trust _you_ to not do something stupid, Dr. Harrison. You have after all been fucking a SEAL the past week."

What in the Hell is _with_ everyone lately thinking that she was fucking Steve? She didn't have the energy to argue with him.

"I'll do it." Kathryn said rather dejectedly. Kathryn knew how important Grace was to Danny and Pen. There was NO WAY she was going to let something happen to her.

"I'll do it." Pen sighed.

**A/N: I have to thank you ALL for pushing the reviews over 100! I have YOU to thank! You're the bomb dot com! Haha. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

**As always, extra shout out to Gizzi1213 and rice117. I seriously have no idea what I would do without you.**


	20. Chapter 20: A Bedtime Story

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Twenty: A Bedtime Story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0… if I did… I wouldn't be missing the episode "at a special time" on Sunday because of work… Grrr…**

When Pen's arms and legs were unbound, she rubbed her wrists to get the feeling back into them. Isabelle yanked her up out of the chair and shoved her toward the door. Pen tried to shoot her with her best "death stare" but she just smiled insolently at her. Eric had untied Kathryn and actually _helped_ her up out of her chair. Fuck that!

"Come on, Grace." Pen said to the little girl, holding out her hand. Grace gladly clung to her as Eric led them out of the room and down a hallway, and then another hallway, which eventually opened up into a large warehouse room where there were shelves and shelves of old things. Very old things. Some more recent old things. If Pen wasn't so disgusted, she would have been very impressed at the collection they had put together.

"It's a majestic sight, isn't it?" Eric asked her, clearly pleased with himself. Pen shot Kathryn a look that said "pssssyyyccchhhooo" and pulled Grace closer.

Eric led them over to an open area where a table sat with cloth gloves for handling the artifacts, a couple different magnifying glasses, some brushes and a couple of different light sources. He knew what they were going to need already. There went Pen's stalling plan. He even had a couple of legal pads of paper and a few pens.

"I think I've got everything you'll need. Just start pulling things off shelves and go for it. If you would just identify what it is, the time period, and a brief synopsis of what it is, what it was used for etcetera that would be great. When you're done with an item, put it back on the shelf where you found it, and keep the information with it."

Pen and Kathryn nodded in understanding. Eric glanced at his Rolex.

"I'll let you guys work for awhile, and then you can sleep. Don't worry, I'll let Grace stay with you."

Ah, the reason for the cot in their little cell became apparent.

Isabelle yanked Grace away from Pen and sat her down in a chair by the table. Then, she stood behind the chair, placing her hands on her hips. Her blazer rode up when she did this, and Pen could see her service weapon. Well, there was the gun to her head. Pen was just glad it wasn't pointed at Grace. Pen glanced at Kathryn and she nodded ever so slightly. She had seen the gun too.

"I'll leave you ladies to it. I've got some business to take care of." Eric spoke again. As he passed Isabelle, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and she smiled at him. Pen turned to the table and rolled her eyes. Blondie and Clyde.

All right. Now was time for some serious rethinking of everything that she had ever been taught. She couldn't even fathom walking over to one of those shelves, bringing an artifact back to this table and examining it. Not when it wasn't going to be in a museum. Not when she knew it was going to sit over someone's mantle or on someone's wall. Grace. She had to think about Grace.

Grace. Pen looked over at the terrified little girl, looking at her like Pen was her last hope. And right now, Pen was her last hope. She had to do this. Somehow, she was able to muster a smile, anyway to reassure her goddaughter. It must have worked, because Grace smiled back.

"All right." Kathryn began, picking up a pair of white gloves. "This is a far cry from my days interning at the British Museum, but… it'll do."

Pen shook her head, getting a pair of gloves for herself.

"The British Museum would _kill_ to have all of this."

"Actually, in a way, they sort of have." Kathryn pointed out.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, Peterson was right! He isn't the only one to steal historical items. How do you think they got all of that stuff?" Kathryn asked.

"Touché." Pen laughed. All Pen had to do was think that this was just another day at the office, and she thought she'd be able to get through it.

"Would you two stop chatting and get to work." Isabelle ordered them. Pen and Kathryn looked at her at the same time. If looks could kill, Isabelle would have been dead two times over.

They both went to the same shelf and each gingerly took an item. Kathryn had gotten some kind of figurine and Pen grabbed a small piece of pottery that looked Greek. They brought it back to the table carefully, and placed them down.

"Aunt Pen?" Grace asked.

"Yes, hon?" Pen acknowledged, looking up at her.

"What does 'fucking' mean?"

Pen was so surprised she actually choked. Isabelle laughed and so did Kathryn. Anyone would have thought that the four females were just having a normal conversation.

"Uh… Grace… you don't need to know that word, so just… just forget it." Pen told her.

"That's what Mommy said. Why do people keep saying it to you?"

Pen wondered why she said "people." But then realized she must have heard Danny yell it at her on Saturday.

"Because people just don't know, hon." Pen replied. She shared a look with Kathryn who gave her a reassuring smile and a nod.

Pen decided that she should keep Grace talking somehow. Just to make her feel better. But definitely not about "fucking."

"Grace, this is Kathryn, by the way. You guys haven't officially met."

"Kathryn?" Grace asked, her face lighting up at the name recognition. "_The_ Kathryn?"

"Nice to meet you, Grace." Kathryn said, giving the little girl a smile. "Your father has talked a whole lot about you."

"He's talked about you too." Grace said slyly. Kathryn smiled widely and laughed.

"Good things, I hope."

"Oh yes! He said that he couldn't wait to introduce me to you." Grace told Kathryn. The Art Historian looked up at Pen in surprise. Pen shrugged. That was the first she had heard of it, but she wasn't surprised.

"You must be something really special to him then." Pen told her friend. "For him to already want to introduce you to his kid? That's a big step."

Kathryn looked back down at her figurine, and Pen saw the clear blush on her face. She looked back up at Grace.

"Hey Grace, how about we get a shaved ice when we get out of here?" Kathryn asked the little girl. Grace looked thrilled.

"It's a deal! I have to make sure you're good enough for my dad."

Pen smiled at Kathryn and winked.

"Seriously…" Isabelle said again, seeming kind of irritated.

"Yeah, we got it." Pen said, shooting the death stare again.

Despite Isabelle's bitching, Pen kept on talking to Grace.

"How was school today, hon?"

"It was ok, I guess." Grace answered.

"Did you learn anything interesting?" Pen pulled over a lamp to get better light on the pottery she had. The warehouse wasn't exactly lit up like a Christmas tree.

"We talked about the Romans today, actually." Grace said. Pen noticed that she had relaxed somewhat in her chair, and Isabelle had backed off a little. Thank God for small favors.

"Oh yeah?" Pen asked, pulling the cap off one of the pens and pulling a legal pad closer to her.

"Yeah, I already knew everything the teacher said though. She was asking us questions, and no one knew anything but me." Grace had this wide grin on her face. Good, that's good. Pen needed Grace to be happy.

"What did you know?" Pen asked. Grace was a very smart little girl. When Pen was in her doctorate program, she had sat at dinner once and just asked her question after question about history in general. And she had retained everything.

"Well, we talked about the gods and how they were like the Greek ones. We did a worksheet on it. Then we took some notes on how Rome began."

"Sounds like she knows more than you." Kathryn joked. Pen just shook her head at her friend.

"Did your teacher talk about Romulus and Remus?" Pen asked, scribbling some notes on the legal pad.

"Yes, yes she did. She also told us about how there were kings, and the last king got over thrown by a guy named Brutus."

"Ah yes…" Pen said, feeling professor mode coming on. "That is actually a legendary or mythical period of Rome's history. We don't really know whether it's true or not. Archeologists haven't found much evidence to support it. But personally, I think it's a cool beginning."

"Even though some of the kings were really bad?" Grace asked her.

"You know, there's always some bad people in the world." Pen said, looking pointedly at Isabelle. St. John smirked back at her.

"You know what else, Grace?" Pen spoke again. "There's another story for the founding of Rome. It starts with this guy named Aeneas. He was a survivor of Troy. You remember about Troy and the Trojan horse?"

Grace nodded emphatically. It was one of her favorite stories.

"Well, Aeneas escaped from Troy and sailed around the Mediterranean for a while. He ended up in Carthage, which is in Northern Africa. There he met a beautiful Queen named Dido, and she loved him. But he didn't love her. Anyway, after he left Carthage, he sailed around again, until he ended up in Italy."

"I think I like Romulus and Remus better." Grace said, making a face that reminded Pen of Danny. Pen laughed, making her final notation on the piece of pottery. It was an amphora jar from the Classical period in Greece. This one, judging by its plainness, may have been used to carry water to the house. She quickly shared her notes with Kathryn who nodded in agreement. Kathryn in turn turned her pad to Pen. The figurine was something from Japan. Probably a child's toy. Interesting.

"I agree, Grace. I like Romulus and Remus better. You remember the story about Julius Caesar?"

Grace again nodded her head.

"The Brutus that killed the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, was supposedly the ancestor of the Brutus that killed Caesar. I guess Brutus felt like it was his family legacy to kill 'dictators.'"

Grace nodded. Pen gave her a smile and a wink as she placed the amphora back on the shelf she had gotten it from. One down… hundreds to go.

* * *

Steve was getting annoyed. That was actually putting it mildly. Steve was feeling a lot of things and annoyance was one of the minor ones. Five-0 had just hit their second warehouse with not a damn thing to show for it. It was getting late, about nine at night, but he couldn't give up. For Pen, for Kathryn (whom he had never formally met), and for Grace, he could not give up.

He was back in his office now, sitting at his desk feeling absolutely helpless. What didn't help was that he actually felt tired. He felt physically and mentally drained. Ops had lasted a lot longer than this and he had been able to get through those. But this… this was different than regular ops.

"Hey."

Steve looked up to see Danny standing in the doorway. The cop came in and sat, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"What do we do, Steve?" Danny asked.

Steve could tell that Danny felt as helpless as he did. They had no idea where to go next. They had more warehouses they could hit, but Steve had a feeling they would be a bust like the others.

"We don't stop looking."

Danny nodded. What else could they do?

"Hey…" Steve said. "It's late. Why don't you go home, sleep some. We'll pick up in the morning."

"If I did go home. I don't think I'd be able to fall asleep."

Steve felt the same way.

"Well, I made Kono and Chin go home. What do you propose we do?" Steve asked him.

A few minutes later, Steve found himself standing in a batting cage with Danny. A pitching machine was set up about sixty feet away from the home plate that was staked to the ground. Danny had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and actually removed his tie. He wasn't bothering with a helmet, Steve noticed, but then neither would he. Although, Steve didn't remember the last time he swung a bat. High school in gym class? He was a football player, and even in the SEALs his team would play pick up games, but no baseball/softball.

"What are we doing here?" Steve asked. This hadn't really been what he had in mind.

"This is where I go when I need to blow off steam or think." Danny said, hitting the button to turn the machine on. It whirred to life, paused for about a minute before releasing a baseball. Danny swung, made contact, and the ball went sailing back past the machine.

"It's a lot better than just going to the shooting range, Steve." Danny told him.

"But I like the shooting range. I can actually shoot."

"You've never hit a baseball?" Danny asked, hitting another one. It went a little farther back this time.

"Not in a long time." Steve said, defensively.

Danny cut the machine off and shook his head. He held out the bat to Steve and stepped out of the batter's box. Steve took the bat. This was dumb. How was this going to accomplish anything, let alone blowing off steam? Steve would rather take a bazooka out into the hills somewhere and blow something up. _That_ was his idea of blowing off steam.

Whatever. Steve stepped up to the plate and tried to take a stance. Basically, he tried to imitate Danny's.

"Ready?" Danny asked. He actually sounded amused, which made Steve want to turn around and use the bat on him.

"Yeah." Steve said. Danny hit the button and the machine turned back on. A ball fell into the release and it shot toward Steve. As it came barreling towards him, he suddenly couldn't remember what he was supposed to do, so he threw himself to the ground. The ball whizzed by him and hit the metal fence behind the plate.

Laughing. Danny was laughing at him. The machine whirred to a stop when Danny cut it off. He couldn't stop laughing.

Steve shot back to his feet and gave Danny a dirty look. Didn't matter to him though, he just kept laughing.

"Oh, I'm sorry man, but that was funny. You aren't afraid to jump right into a massive shoot out but you're afraid of a baseball coming at you. Oh man, that's funny as hell."

"Turn the damn thing back on." Steve growled, turning back to take his position.

This time, he swung wildly and missed. Danny laughed again. And kept laughing.

"Now I know why you played football and not baseball."

"Danny, shut up."

This just made Danny laugh some more.

"I think your basketball skills are a lot better than your baseball skills."

"Put it back on again." Steve said.

Danny hit the button and the machine released another ball. This time, Steve swung and made direct contact. The crack of the ball against the ball sounded loud to Steve's ears, and the ball flew into the wall at the back of the cage. Danny wasn't laughing this time.

"Wow."

"You're right." Steve said, turning around to hand Danny the bat. "That does feel pretty good."

Danny took the bat and started up the machine again, hitting a few. Steve watched and took mental notes on his form.

"So… you and this Kathryn girl serious?" Steve asked his partner.

"I don't know. It has the potential." Danny said, taking a practice swing.

"Do you want it to be serious?"

"I do." Danny admitted. "She's pretty incredible. I promised her a second date."

"And you'll keep your promise." Steve assured him.

"Look man… I'm sorry again about—"

"Let's not go there, Danny. It's forgiven. You just need to apologize to Pen."

"I know. And I _will_ apologize."

They must have stayed there for another hour or so, just taking turns hitting the shit out of baseballs. Mostly, they were silent, just lost in their own thoughts. When they grew tired, they took a few minutes to collect all the balls they had hit, and then returned to the office. The batting cage had helped with some of the restless energy. Tomorrow was a new day. Tomorrow was the day they'd get their girls back.

* * *

Kathryn and Pen had gotten through almost one set of shelves when Isabelle's phone rang. She spoke softly into it, and then hung up.

"You guys can stop for the night." And here, she pulled the gun from her holster. "Back to your room."

Pen and Kathryn quickly put back their last artifact, and then dropped their white gloves on the table. Pen quickly took Grace by the arm before that blonde bitch could touch her, and then they marched back to their little cell. Kathryn went first and then Grace. Isabelle pushed Pen into the room, and when Pen turned around to make a smart comment, Isabelle just smirked and slammed the door in her face.

"I really hate that woman."

"Tell me about it. She jumped me when I was unlocking my front door!"

"I'm sorry, Kathryn." Pen said, pulling down the covers of the cot and motioning Grace under them. "This is all my fault."

"What are you talking about?" Kathryn asked, grabbing a bottle of water from the table.

"If I hadn't made you come with me to his house, you wouldn't be here right now."

"Oh please. Like you could've known." Kathryn scoffed, opening up a pack of crackers.

"You want some water or crackers?" Pen asked Grace after tucking the covers around the littler girl.

"No, thank you Aunt Pen. I'm not really hungry."

"Pen why don't you take the bed with Grace. I'll… take the floor or something." Kathryn told her.

"No, you can take the bed, I'll—"

"Just take the damn bed!" Kathryn exclaimed, picking a spot on the concrete floor. Someone had placed an extra pillow and blanket on the table, so Kathryn used those. Pen climbed up on the bed behind Grace and pulled her close, stroking her hair.

"Aunt Pen?" Grace whispered.

"Yes, hon?"

"Will you tell me a bedtime story?" She asked.

"Of course, sweetie. What kind of a story do you want?"

"A princess story?"

"I think I can handle that." Pen told her. Grace snuggled back into Pen a little more, and waited patiently for her story.

"Once upon a time… there was a Princess named Gr—"

"Penelope." Grace supplied. It was very quiet, but Pen heard Kathryn snort.

"Once upon a time, there was a Princess name Penelope. And she lived in a kingdom far away. One day, her dad, the king, decided that it was time that she find someone to marry. So, the king went to the neighboring kingdom, where the king there was a very good friend of Penelope's dad. Both kings got together and decided to betroth their children. The neighboring king had a son, named Prince—"

"Stephen." Pen really heard Kathryn's snort then. Pen sighed.

"Prince Stephen. Well, Princess Penelope and Prince Stephen meet one day, and they don't like each other. At all. See, Princess Penelope had heard about Prince Stephen from her best friend, Sir… Daniel. And Sir Daniel told Princess Penelope that Prince Stephen was a little… crazy. Sir Daniel and Prince Stephen were known throughout the two kingdoms as noble… dragon slayers and savers of fair damsels, and Prince Stephen's methods were… unusual, to say the least. But one day, Lady Grace, Princess Penelope's closest friend, ordered Prince Stephen to spend the day with the Princess. Prince Stephen, never one to disobey an order, spent the day with Princess Penelope. And then he spent more time with her. They began to like each other very much.

"A bad man came and took Princess Penelope. Prince Stephen and Sir Daniel found her though, and Prince Stephen never let Princess Penelope out of his sight from that day forward."

"Did they live happily ever after?" Grace asked, her slurred speech indicating that she was falling asleep.

"Y-Yes… they lived happily ever after." Pen told her.

The only sound in the room was Grace's steady breathing. She had fallen asleep. Thank God.

"So…" Kathryn whispered from the floor. "Do Princess Penelope and Prince Stephen really live happily ever after?"

"I don't know, Kathryn."

"What do you mean, you don't know? Have you _seen_ that guy, lately? He's hot."

She seemed to say that a lot about the men in her life.

"I… I just don't know." And then Pen told Kathryn what she had seen that afternoon.

"Psh. Come on. You really think he made out with that tramp? I don't think so. I think everything isn't what it seems. And when Prince Stephen and Sir Daniel come rescue us fair damsels, which I _know_ they will, you'll have to get the story straight from him."

Kathryn was probably right. But that scene had been pretty convincing looking. Every fiber in Pen's being wanted to deny what she had seen. She wanted to be convinced that there was a good explanation for it. But she had seen what she had seen.

**A/N: So, all the excitement is going to go down in the next chapter, and you'll probably hate me after that one too. Just saying… **

**Thank you reviewers! Your kind and awesome words keep me going and going and going… eh, you get the point! Thank you to Gizzi1213 and rice117. You guys'll have to start sending me a bill or something, haha!**


	21. Chapter 21: How Caesar Must've Felt

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Twenty-One: How Caesar Must've Felt**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0… if I did… this whole Dane Cook being Danny's brother thing… would be permanent. **

Steve didn't remember the last time he had enjoyed a sunrise. There were so many bursts of color that streaked across the sky as the sun came over the horizon. He wished that Penny was beside him to enjoy it as well. But she wasn't, because some dumb businessman had tricked them all into thinking he was… well… dumb.

"Hey, you ok?" Danny asked him as he came up onto the roof. Steve had been enjoying the sunrise on the roof of the police headquarters. Danny had finally taken a snooze in one of the chairs in his office, but Steve could not bring himself to close his eyes. When he did, he had terrible images of what could be happening to Penny. Hell, he had those images even when his eyes were open.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Steve answered his partner.

"I just got off the phone with Kono and Chin. They'll be here in a bit. They're ready to hit some more warehouses."

Steve nodded, never looking away from the sun.

"I'll be down."

Danny turned and descended the stairs back down into the building. The activity was picking up down in the bullpen as officers were ending theirs shifts and other officers were coming on. Danny grabbed a cup of coffee in the machine they kept in the conference room. He wasn't usually one for coffee but he felt like he needed a strong cup to stay awake. His hair probably looked like a mess from the way he had been sleeping but he didn't care. And for once, he didn't care that his shirt and tie were probably wrinkled.

A little while later, Kono and Chin came in. Steve had since come down from the roof, and they quickly geared up. Today was the day.

* * *

Pen had been in the middle of a dream that had Steve stepping out of the ocean with nothing but his black swimming trunks on and a pair of Aviator sunglasses, dripping wet when she was rudely awoken by Isabelle St. John.

"Time to get up, Sleeping Ugly."

Pen adjusted her glasses, which had gotten askew sometime during sleep, and sat up in bed. Kathryn was already up and walking around the room. Pen shook Grace who groggily came awake. The look on her face showed Pen that she had been hoping it was all a bad dream. Pen rubbed Grace's back in comfort.

"Come on. You guys get a bathroom visit, and then back to work." Isabelle informed them. They followed her down a different hallway to a small bathroom. Kathryn went first, and then Grace.

"Where's your master?" Pen asked Isabelle. "He off killing someone else?"

The two shared a look. They could tell that they wanted the other dead.

"You know, your boyfriend is an excellent kisser." Isabelle taunted. "I'm pretty sure he also enjoyed the quickie we had in his office. And you know what else he told me? He didn't know why he was with such a mousy, plain professor like you."

Pen tried to lung at the woman but Kathryn held her back. Isabelle just laughed. Grace soon came out and Pen stormed in, slamming the door behind her. Lies. They had to be lies. They had to be lies, Pen kept repeating over and over in her head.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she wasn't a pretty sight. Her hair was a wreck, she had a small bruise forming on her cheek where she was backhanded, and there were dark circles under her eyes. What she wouldn't give for a shower.

After she was done doing her business, she returned to the hallway. Isabelle then led them back into the storage room, and Kathryn and Pen went back to work.

Isabelle sat Grace back down in the chair she had used yesterday. Grace looked worn too. She looked tired and still scared. Pen would give anything to take her fear away. But for now, all she could do was keep Grace talking, and make her feel comfortable. Apparently, Kathryn was on the same page as Pen.

"Hey, Grace." She said to the girl. "Would you like to know about the artifact I'm looking at?"

Grace, ever the eager learner, nodded her head.

"This is a religious icon. I'd say… maybe 800 years old? It depicts Mary, Jesus's mom, holding little baby Jesus. Can you see?"

Kathryn held up the icon and Grace strained to look at it. It was a beautiful piece of artwork. It was small, probably meant to be for personal use instead of in a church. It was probably Byzantine or Greek Orthodox. There had been a lot of fighting over whether there should be icons or statues in churches. That whole "false idols" bit.

"That looks like the one Aunt Pen has in her bedroom." Grace said.

Pen did have one a lot like that in her bedroom, except hers had St. Michael the Archangel depicted on it. She kept St. Michael around to keep Danny safe always, since he was the patron saint of police officers and military. Now, he was around for Steve as well.

"That's right, hon.," Pen said. "Except, mine isn't as old as that."

Grace smiled. Pen smiled back. That was all she could have asked for.

* * *

Second warehouse of the day and it was another fucking bust. Steve was really starting to get fucking pissed. He almost un-holstered his gun and shot out the windows on the Camaro. But then he remembered that, although he may drive it all the time, it technically wasn't his.

So, it was a good damn thing that Dave Monroe decided just then to call.

"I got an AFIS match on the hand print I found in the shipping container. It belongs to a Hong Chen. He's got priors for breaking and entering, and petty theft."

Steve sat up straight from where he had been leaning against the Camaro.

"You've got an address?"

"I'll text it to you." Dave replied. Steve ran to the driver's seat, yelling the whole way.

"Come on! We've got a match to the print in the container. Guy could know where they're keeping the artifacts. Dave is texting the address. Let's go, let's go!"

Danny hauled ass into the passenger seat, while Steve was gunning the engine of the Camaro. Chin and Kono were following suit. Steve handed his phone to Danny and took off at top speed down the road.

"Address is in Chinatown. 351 Pei Mei Street, Apt H."

Steve's acknowledgement was more speed. This guy was a lacky, a low level crime guy that always does people's dirty work. He could have been moving the product, so he would most certainly point them in the right direction with a little friendly persuasion.

It was still fairly early in the morning, so the traffic going into Chinatown wasn't bad. Danny had been in contact with Chin and Kono to let them know the address. Steve took the turn sharply onto Pei Mei Street and for once Danny didn't complain.

As Steve jumped out of the car, he threw his Aviators on the front seat, not needing any obstructions. He ran into building number 351, closely followed by Danny.

"Chin, Kono, take the back in case he runs out." Steve yelled over his shoulder as he and Danny climbed the stairs to apartment H. He was taking them two at a time, feeling like every step he took was leading him closer to Penny.

He and Danny flanked either side of the door that led into apartment H. Danny knocked and announced them.

"Hong Chen! This is Detective Williams and Commander McGarrett with Five-0. Open up!"

No one came to the door, but Steve and Danny could hear scuffling inside. Steve looked at Danny, and the cop rolled his eyes and gave him silent permission. Steve lifted his left and kicked the door in. They heard a window opening in the back of the apartment. Steve ran first, and made it just in time for Hong Chen to disappear down the fire escape. He dove out the window after him and started flying down the stairs after the guy. Hong Chen reached the bottom before Steve, and started running down the alley but a fist came up and connected with his face, knocking him to the ground. It had been Kono. Steve heaved a sigh as he caught up. Kono had Chen down on his stomach and was cuffing his hands behind his back.

"Why were you running, huh?" Chin asked, as he lifted Chen off the ground. It was some poor, naïve kid who looked scared shitless.

"What do you want with me?" Hong Chen asked them. He was sweating bullets.

"What have you been doing for work lately, huh?" Steve asked the kid, shoving him up against the alley wall.

"I've been working as a pizza delivery man." The kid replied.

"Uh huh, you've been doing deliveries, all right." Danny chimed in.

Steve pulled out an autopsy picture of Jin Lo Ming.

"You've been doing deliveries with this guy, right?"

"I've never seen him before in my life." Hong Chen claimed. Steve knew he was lying because his eyes were shifting from side to side.

The SEAL spun the kid around and grounded his face into the wall.

"Look, I don't have time for your fucking games, kid. Tell me where you've been taking all of the old stuff you've been getting from Oahu Shipping." Steve then shoved the picture back into the kid's face. "He was your overseer, correct?"

The kid knew it was in his best interest to start telling the truth, so he nodded to the latter question.

"Ok, so, you were working with him. Where were you taking the stuff?" For emphasis, he pushed Chen's face into the wall a little more. When he heard the kid groaning in pain, he felt better.

"W-We were t-taking it to a w-warehouse!" Hong Chen shouted out, hoping that that would serve to get his face out of the wall. Not so much. Steve put his hand on the kid's head and pushed harder. Chen thought his skull was going to crack open like an egg.

"Where is this warehouse?" Steve yelled.

When Chen didn't answer right away, Steve thought he was going to be reduced to doing something very rash. And he really didn't want to have to resort to torture. But whatever it took to get the location of this warehouse, Steve would go to whatever lengths.

"WHERE?" Steve yelled again.

"It's off the H1, just outside the city!" Chen shouted. He finally got the relief on his head that he wanted.

"You're coming with us."

Steve grabbed hold of Chen and started dragging him back down the alley to their cars.

"Boss, you want me to call for backup?" Chin asked.

"Yeah." Steve told him simply, while shoving Chen into the backseat of the Camaro. He fell down onto the bench seat and tried to right himself as best he could. He was getting nervous again. He didn't know what the hell these cops wanted with him, but he hoped whatever it was didn't land him back in jail.

Danny felt relief for the first time in a while. Finally! They had the location, they were going to get back Grace, Pen, and Kathryn. Danny glanced over at Steve who had gotten back in the driver's seat and turned over the engine again. He was Stone Cold Steve again, easily slipping into Super SEAL mode. God help whoever got in the way of Super SEAL Steve.

* * *

The table was now littered with artifacts, some ancient, some from the Middle Ages, and even a couple of things from the Napoleonic Wars.

"Kinda reminds you of Captain Wentworth, huh?" Kathryn asked Pen as she held up an early 19th century British naval officer's sword. Kathryn knew that Pen's favorite Jane Austen novel was _Persuasion_. Funny, because Pen now had her own Navy man. Kathryn wondered if there had always been a reason for _Persuasion_ being Pen's favorite…

"Come on, this one reminds you of Maximus!" Pen said, holding up a fairly intact Roman _gladius_, almost like the one hanging on the wall in her office. In Pen's eyes, Russell Crowe in _Gladiator_ would top Captain Wentworth any day.

"Hey…" Kathryn began. "You ever think…"

"Ever think what?" Pen asked.

"Captain Wentworth and Maximus. Put them together… and guess who you get?"

Pen shrugged.

"Uncle Stevie!" Came the reply. That was from Grace.

Pen laughed.

"I suppose you're right."

Pen couldn't stop smiling. It was funny how Steve was a mixture of two of her favorite fictional characters, all wrapped into one real man. Oh Steve.

Voices filtered in from the hallway. Pen and Kathryn looked up to see Eric Peterson talking on his cell phone, being flanked by five flunkies. The two women shared a looked and rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, I've got people working on it now." Peterson said to the person on the other end of the line. "Yeah, they'll be done soon. I'll keep you updated. Later."

He stepped up to Isabelle and kissed her. Pen rolled her eyes and kept on examining a hand held mirror that was probably from the Renaissance.

"How is everyone this morning? Need anything? Anything at all?" Eric asked them, ever the gracious host.

"No, I think we're fine." Kathryn replied, trying to use the same sugary fake graciousness. Pen chuckled.

"I thought I'd come in and watch you as you work for awhile." Eric said. "I'm interested to see what all we have." He stepped up to the table, holding his hands behind his back, and leaned forward to check out some of the items.

"What's that?" He asked about the object Kathryn was currently working on.

"I honestly can't be sure. But I think it's an old snuffbox from the 18th century."

He looked interested, but Pen couldn't tell whether he was just faking it or not. She didn't know about him, but a snuffbox from the 18th century is one of the least interesting things Pen could think of.

Eric righted himself and looked over at Grace. He smiled.

"Miss Grace. Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything? Something to play with… a Barbie perhaps?"

Grace looked at him like he had three heads.

"No." Was all she said. He shrugged and went back to stand next to Isabelle.

Pen walked around the table so that she wouldn't have to look at them. Every time she did she either felt like vomiting or throwing something at them. She didn't think that would help Grace's cause if she was destroying the product.

Her back was beginning to ache from all the leaning over. She straightened and sighed when she felt her back crack and pop. She opened her eyes, after having cracked her neck, and she saw him.

Danny was hiding in the shadows behind one of the shelving units. They made eye contact and he held a finger to his lips. She nodded slightly. Thank GOD! She couldn't see Steve but she _knew_ he was around here somewhere.

"Hey Kathryn." Pen said. "You like this cavalry sword? Teddy Roosevelt probably had something like this."

Pen looked at her pointedly when she said "cavalry" and realization flickered across her friend's eyes.

"Yeah, TR's your favorite, isn't he?" Kathryn asked.

Pen nodded and looked up again. Danny wasn't there anymore.

Unfortunately for the goon standing closest to where Danny had been hiding, he got knocked over the head with the butt of a gun and fell to the ground. Then, all Hell broke loose. Everyone was pulling their guns (even Eric and Isabelle) and shots were being taken everywhere. Kathryn ducked down under the table, and Pen did the same, except she tried to crawl over to Grace to grab her. Eric got to her before Pen could, and pulled Grace in front of him like a human shield.

"Stop shooting, Williams!" Peterson exclaimed, how Eric knew who it was, she wasn't sure. "Or risk hitting your daughter!"

The shooting stopped immediately. There were only two goons left of the five; the rest were either lying dead on the ground or were groaning from their wounds.

Isabelle, her own service weapon drawn, reached under the table to drag Kathryn up, and pulled Pen up off the ground as well. She stood them together and held her gun on the both of them.

"Let them go Peterson, and you won't have to die today!" Steve yelled from somewhere. He and Danny emerged from the shadows, guns drawn. Pen was finally witnessing Super SEAL Steve, and it was a pretty frightening sight. He glanced at Pen briefly before taking in the rest of the room. Pen could just imagine his brain working to analyze the situation like Robocop or the Terminator.

"Commander McGarrett. How nice to see you!" Eric sneered, pulling Grace closer to him. "How did you manage to find us?"

"A loose end you forgot to tie off." Steve replied, his gun never wavering from Peterson.

Steve would have loved to just keep his gaze on Penny, but now that he saw her and she was ok (despite a bruise on her face, which gave him reason to take out the rest of the fuckers in this room), he decided to focus on just Peterson.

"Don't come any closer." Peterson warned, actually putting the gun to Grace's temple. The little girl was quivering and crying now, and Pen would've given her soul to take out that fucker right then. She could tell by the look on Danny's face he was straining not to freak out.

"Daddy!" She called to him.

"It's ok, monkey. You're going to be fine!" Danny promised her. He also glanced at Kathryn to give her the once over to make sure she was ok.

"Kat…" He whispered.

"I'm fine, Danny." She told him.

He looked at Pen next and she just nodded.

"Peterson, again, let everyone go, and you won't have to die today."

Peterson just laughed.

"I won't be dying today. But one of your girls might if _you_ don't BACK OFF!"

The thing that came to mind that reminded Pen of this situation was a Mexican standoff. Neither side was willing to make a concession for the other, and Peterson had hostages. There needed to be another diversion. Pen took stock of her own situation as Peterson and Danny and Steve kept arguing and shouting at each other.

Pen stood closest to the table where there were plenty of pointy objects. Kathryn was a foot to her left and Isabelle stood in front of them, her gun pointing at them, but lingering on Pen more than Kathryn. The blonde had a smirk on her face like she knew that someone wasn't going to get out of here alive.

Then, Pen thought of an idea.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!"

All eyes turned to her.

"Look… this is going no where, very quickly." Pen began. "Eric… just… just let Kathryn, Grace, Steve and Danny walk out of here alive and unharmed and… and I will stay and finish the job for you. In return, Five-0 will promise that they won't come back to get you or me. It'll be enough time for you to get your product out and sold and you can go off and hide in a country where there isn't an extradition treaty with the U.S."

"Pen! What the hell are you doing?" Steve shouted at her. It was the dumbest thing he had ever heard, and exactly what he had been afraid of her doing. The noble thing. The ultimate sacrifice for Grace. Because he knew, if they walked out that door, it would be the last time he ever saw Pen. They would kill her when they had no more use for her.

"Steve… Steve just shut up and do it! It's the only way to get Grace out of here alive. And that's all that matters." Pen argued.

All Pen needed was for Peterson to give up Grace, and then she was going to take out his little devil tramp. Diversion accomplished.

"Pen—"

"Stephen." Pen interrupted him. "Just do it. And… and I want you to have the sword in my office."

The sword in her office? That seemed like an odd thing to say. The sword in her office was that Roman thing that… he glanced at the table right next to where she was standing and sure enough there was one, albeit a real one and very decrepit looking. He realized right away when Pen was trying to tell him.

"We can handle this suggestion if you can, Peterson." Steve said. Danny looked at him like he had sprung an extra leg, but if there was one thing he had learned it was that his partner had a method to his madness.

Peterson thought on it a second.

"I think we can handle it as well." He shoved Grace at Danny, and once she was in his arms, Pen struck. She lunged for the sword on the table, grabbed it, and swung it wide. It made contact with Isabelle's gun and her weapon fell to the floor and slid under a shelving unit somewhere. For the second time that day, all Hell broke loose.

"Run Kathryn! Get Grace out of here!" Pen yelled at her as Isabelle came at Pen. Her friend did just that.

Danny had pulled Grace with him behind more shelves as they dodged bullets being fired from Peterson and his two goons.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed, hugging him so tightly and kissing him all over his face.

"Monkey, I need you to keep being brave for me, ok. I need you to run out of here as fast as you can, and find Uncle Chin and Aunt Kono, ok?"

She nodded at him, and just then Kathryn came diving behind the shelves.

"Oh thank God." He breathed, pulling her too him and squeezing the life out of her.

"Can't… breath… Danny." She choked.

"Oh, sorry!"

He then repeated to Kathryn what he had wanted Grace to do. She nodded, and grabbed Grace's hand.

"Don't worry, Danny. I'll get her out of here safely."

"Get you both out of here safely." He pleaded with her.

He turned to peer around the shelf and saw that Steve was ducking behind more shelves and shooting at the two goons. Peterson wasn't anywhere in sight, and from where he was sitting he couldn't see Pen or St. John.

"All right…" He said, checking his gun over to make sure he was good with ammunition. He did one more check to make sure everyone was thoroughly distracted. "Go! GO!" He shouted at Kathryn and Grace and they ran as fast as they could, and made it out into the hallway. Two less people to worry about right now.

These guys were good, but Steve was better. He finally plunked one of the guys in the shoulder and ducked back down before the guy's buddy could get him. Danny rolled out of nowhere and came up next to Steve.

"Nice of you to join in the fun." Steve quipped. Danny just shook his head.

"I got Grace and Kathryn out of here, but I don't see Pen or Isabelle."

That worried Steve. That worried Steve A LOT.

"And it looks like Peterson split too."

Steve cursed. He was not going to let that fucker get away.

"How about you go find him, and I'll take care of Jumbo? And then I'll find your girl."

Steve reloaded his gun and nodded at Danny. While staying low, he ran until he was out of the line of fire, straightened up, and continued full tilt to the back of the warehouse. It was the only way Peterson could have gone. Steve hadn't seen him run past and out the front. He ran to where he knew the exit was (he and Danny had snuck in there) and threw the door wide. He was blinded for a moment by the sun. Once his eyesight came back, he saw Peterson a ways down the pier that was situated at the back of the warehouse.

He had to get that fucker. He ran. And he ran faster, still channeling Super SEAL. Thankfully, Peterson must have not been a sprinter or track runner at Harvard, so Steve was able to catch up and over take him. He tackled the guy to the ground. They rolled around and scuffled for a few minutes, before Steve over powered him and gave the guy some powerful punches across his pretty boy features. Peterson was trying desperately to reach his gun that had been tossed aside in the attack, but Steve got to it first and threw it into the ocean.

"Did you think you could get away from me?" Steve yelled at him. Peterson could only managed a grumble, and it sounded more like a gurgle than anything.

He pointed his own gun at Peterson's beaten and bloody face. His nose was surely broken, and his jawbone was at a funny angle. God, how he wanted to shoot this man. Steve wanted to shoot him first and foremost for kidnapping Pen, Kathryn and Grace. He wanted to shoot Peterson for breaking international law and ruining the world's heritage. He wanted to shoot him for being a complete and total fuck head. But Steve didn't want to give him the quick release of death. He wanted him to rot in a prison cell for a long time. So Steve re-holstered his gun, flipped the guy over, and cuffed his hands behind his back.

Just then, Chin and Kono ran down the pier, guns drawn and at the ready, but they relaxed when they saw their boss had it under control.

"Damn, Danny's not here."

"What do you mean?" Chin asked.

"I can't say 'Book 'em, Danno.'" Chin and Kono laughed and hauled Peterson up and took him back to a cruiser.

Steve then realized that Pen was still missing in action. He ran as fast as he could back down the pier and into the warehouse. He had to get to her.

Meanwhile, Pen and Isabelle had ended up behind some shelving. The table with all the pointy objects had been tipped over and had scattered all over the floor. Pen still had her _gladius_, and Isabelle had picked up the British naval officer sword. Clearly, neither were swordsmen so neither were really good at trying to overcome the other. There was a lot of flailing, actually, and a lot of sloppiness. They crossed blades and Pen was finally able to get close enough to lash out with her free hand and land a punch across Isabelle's jaw. She ignored the pain that erupted from her knuckles and into the rest of her left hand. The pain on Isabelle's face was enough to make Pen ignore her own. Unfortunately, Isabelle also reached out her free arm and punched Pen. Her hit was more powerful, she had had formal training after all, and it caused Pen to drop her _gladius_.

Ah shit. Pen was screwed. The pain that was erupting across her face was effecting her vision slighty. She could barely make out that her _gladius_ was right _there_ on the ground, but Isabelle had the sword pointing at her, that maniacal smile on her face. Isabelle raised the sword to strike, but Pen ducked down quickly and came back up with the _gladius_ to parry the strike. She had no idea where that move came from. _The Princess Bride_?

The two woman clashed blades some more, again not very gracefully, but whatever it took to keep Pen's head on her shoulders. At some point, Pen's blade got caught up in the hilt of Isabelle's sword, and both went to the ground. Great, that left hand to hand. Something Pen was definitely not good at. Sure, she knew some self-defense moves but only because Danny had taught them to her.

Isabelle laughed.

"You might as well give up, little girl."

"There's no way in Hell." Pen said, tasting the blood from her split lip.

They squared off, and Pen was able to get a good punch in. Isabelle stumbled back and for a second Pen thought she was going to fall to the ground. No such luck. Isabelle came back up, with a really pissed off look on her face, and with a really mean right hook, connected with Pen's jaw. Pen spun back and almost fell to the ground herself. But she quickly righted herself, turned around, and came at Isabelle.

She didn't see it coming. It must have been grabbed off the ground (still littered with those pointy objects) when Pen had been turned around by the punch. But the blade, a Roman dagger much like the one that had killed William Morris, stabbed into the left of Pen's abdomen like it was made of butter. Pen let out a gasp, not really at the pain, but the initial shock. Isabelle had the most satisfied and proud smile on her face as Pen fell backwards to the ground, still not really grasping the full situation of what had happened. The pain was there now though, and it was excruciating and terrifying. She had been stabbed! Stabbed by that tramp!

Shots rang out, and for a second Pen had thought that Isabelle had gotten her gun from somewhere and was shooting Pen to finish the job. But no, four bloody holes erupted on Isabelle's own torso and she fell forward onto the ground, almost instantly dead. Steve was behind her, the muzzle of his gun still smoking slightly.

Then, there was silence in the room, and it rang in Pen's ears, as did her heavy breathing and gasps for air. She felt like she couldn't breath. The dagger must have punctured a lung.

"Oh God!" A voice shouted, breaking the silence, and Steve ran up to her where blood had begun pooling a little. "Oh God, oh God!" He rambled, as he looked her over.

Pen coughed and gasped.

"N-now I know… h-how… h-how Julius Caesar mu-must've… f-felt."

"Shh… shh… don't talk, sweetheart." Steve said, stroking her hair. Danny came running up to them, having taken care of the last goon.

"Oh God!" He shouted as well.

Damn, Pen must have been really bad looking or something.

"Danny! Call in an ambulance… NOW!" And Danny was on his phone, running his hands through his hair.

Spots were beginning to form in front of Pen's eyes, and her peripheral vision was starting to get fuzzy. She felt faint, too, all probably from the blood loss. Steve couldn't take out the offending object because it would make her bleed faster. He was ripping pieces off of his t-shirt and trying to staunch the blood bubbling up around the dagger.

"You're going to be ok. You're going to be ok." He kept saying, over and over again. Pen would have been convinced if she didn't feel like death was already coming for her. Danny ran back and kneeled on the other side of her.

"An ambulance is coming." He said.

"O-oh. I-I g-got… blood… on my… fav-favorite pair of… Chucks." Pen gasped out. Steve looked at her shoes, and sure enough, before she had fallen to the ground, she had dripped blood on them.

"Don't worry about it." Steve assured her. "I'll buy you another pair."

Pen shook her head. She had a feeling there wasn't going to be another pair.

"St-Steve… I'm not—"

"YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT!" He shouted at her, and Pen could hear the desperation in his tone. Again, she would have believed him, if her arms and legs weren't already feeling cold.

"Come on Pen. Fight! Fight it!" Danny pleaded, his hand now stroking her hair. Pen could make out tears in his eyes. Why was he crying?

"I-I love you, Danny." Pen rasped out. He blinked and a couple of tears fell.

"Don't say it like that." He told her. Pen's eyes rolled a little, feeling the darkness gripping at her. She looked to Steve, who full on had trails of tears down his cheeks. Steve was crying? She didn't think Steve was capable of crying?

"Don't you leave me!" He pleaded too. "Don't you DARE leave me, Penelope!"

Pen felt it this time. Her vision was flickering in and out. She almost couldn't see Steve anymore, but then it got back into focus. And there he was, his beautiful, fathomless eyes with those ridiculous eyelashes, looking at her. She tried to fight the thing pulling at her, to stay and look at those eyes longer, but she was losing the battle with unconsciousness.

"St-Steve…" She tried one last time. "St… I… I'm f-falling… in…" But she couldn't finish, because the darkness finally swallowed her whole.

**A/N: DON'T HATE ME! PLEASE! **

**Would it help if I thank you all for continuing to read this story even though I do bad things to these characters? … I **_**am**_** sorry! Thanks to Gizzi1213 and rice117… I owe you my first born.**


	22. Chapter 22: Your Navy Guy

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Your Navy Guy**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0… but if I did… Grace would be on the show more and she wouldn't be such a flat character.**

**A/N: In this chapter, it's time to play "Spot a Reference to Another of Alex O'Loughlin's shows"!**

Man, if this was what Heaven felt like, Pen wanted to have a word with St. Peter. Her entire body felt like it was weighted down with lead. If she had to lift her arms, there was no way that that was going to happen. Her eyelids felt just as heavy, and when she tried to lift them, they wouldn't budge. Pen _really_ needed to have a word with the gatekeeper.

"Penelope, honey?"

That voice sounded really familiar, but Pen could not place it at the moment. She tried to open her eyes again, and this time had more success. They slowly fluttered open. Her vision was blurry, worse than when she wasn't wearing her glasses (and she could tell they weren't resting on her nose), but eventually it came back into focus. There was an older woman looking down at her. She appeared to be in her late fifties, with short brown hair and kind hazel eyes hiding behind stylish bifocal lenses. This lady looked really familiar.

"Mom? What are you doing in Heaven, Mom?"

Claudette Sheppard laughed at her daughter. She sent up a silent prayer as well. Her baby was going to be ok.

"This isn't Heaven, sweetie. You're not dead."

"I'm not? It sure felt like I was." Pen replied. Her head felt like a lead balloon, but she managed to turn her head. Sure enough, she was in a white, sterile room (in her defense, could easily be mistaken for Heaven) and she was hooked up to a ton of tubes and monitors.

"What are you doing here?" Pen spoke again.

Claudette shook her head.

"Are you kidding? I get a call from Danny saying you were in the hospital because you'd been stabbed, and you're wondering what I'm doing here?"

"Oh."

"Yeah. 'Oh.' The second he told me that, I was in the car heading to the airport. I was able to jump on a flight here in no time. Your friend Kathryn picked me up at the airport."

"Jesus, how long was I out?" Pen asked.

"About two days."

"Kathryn's ok?"

"Yes. And so is Grace. Danny told me what you did, hon. What were you thinking?"

Pen sighed. She had been stabbed, been out for two days, and she felt looped out on every painkiller known to man. She was not in the mood to argue with her mom.

"Grace was in danger, Ma. What else was I supposed to do?"

"I know, hon." And she did. "Let me go get the doctor."

Claudette bustled out of the room. In truth, Pen was glad her mom was here. At the brink of death, she really had wanted her mommy. Her throat felt dry and cracked, so she looked to her right where she saw an over-the-bed table with a water pitcher and a glass. What she saw next to the water was a teddy bear with a picture hand drawn by Grace. Pen mustered her strength to lift her arm and picked up the picture. Grace had drawn her, holding the _gladius_ aloft. The words said "My Hero." Tears swelled in her eyes.

Her mother returned with the doctor, a handsome, older man with salt and pepper hair.

"Rise and shine, Ms. Harrison. Welcome back, I'm Dr. Yablonski." He smiled at her. He then began checking her vitals and asking her questions about how she felt. Then, it was time to check her wound dressings.

The wound was still stitched and it looked red and puckered slightly. But the doc assured her that everything was fine. He changed the dressing, and grabbed her chart to take notes. He pulled up an armchair that had been sitting by the bed, and sat down.

"We were really worried about you. When you came in, you had already lost a lot of blood. We extracted the knife and noticed your lung had been punctured. It's what we call a sucking chest wound. We had to do some repair, and then we inserted a chest tube and hooked you up to the Pluer-evac. It's a machine that equalizes the pressure in your lungs and keeps them from collapsing, plus it sucks all the blood and bad fluids out of your lungs. We actually just took you off of it a few hours ago. Other than all that, you're healing nicely. No infection from the rust on the knife or anything like that. I would like to keep you in here for the remainder of the week, just for observational purposes. And, there will be some physical therapy as well, but nothing too major."

"Thank you very much, Dr. Yablonski." Pen rasped out. He patted her hand and told her he'd come back to check on her in a few hours before he went home. Claudette poured pen a cup of water, and gently lifted the head of the bed up. Her mom had been a nurse for a time, before stepping into the classroom to teach. This must have been where Pen had gotten her career choice of education.

The water felt cool and wet down her dry throat, a welcome relief from the desert it had felt like.

"Great picture, isn't it?" Her mom asked. Pen realized she was referring to Grace's drawing, which Pen still gripped in her hand. "I watched her sit right here and draw it. She has talent, that cute little girl. She was talking to you the whole time, too. Telling you about her day and what she had done and learned."

Pen just nodded and sat back against the pillows. She wished that she could say she had heard Grace, but she didn't remember anything of the sort.

Pen had been out for two plus days, had tubes everywhere including her chest, and she still felt tired and worn. Well, you had just been stabbed!

"Oh, by the way…" Claudette spoke, sitting in the chair on the right side of Pen's bed. "… thanks for calling your mother and telling her about this man you have!"

Pen was confused for a second. Then it dawned on her that she must have met Steve. Pen wondered where Steve was. Pen wondered where anyone was.

"Oh, him."

"Yeah, 'him.'" It seems her mother was feeling very sarcastic today. Damn. "I finally had to kick him out because he wouldn't leave your side. He was starting to offend the nurses with his stench. So, I told him to go home, have a nap and a shower and come back later. He did ask me to call if you woke up, I suppose I should do that."

At that moment, Pen would have loved nothing more than to see Steve. That whole, thinking she was dying, thing scared the shit out of her because she knew that she was going to never see Steve again. That, to her, seemed a fate worse than death. At this point, she really couldn't have cared less if he had ended up necking with all of Pen's nurses, she just wanted to see him: his face, his eyes, his smile. Everything.

"Would you like me to call him?" Her mom asked her.

Pen nodded.

"While I'm at it, I'll call Danny and let him know as well. Grace has been wanting to come back to see you." Pen just nodded again, and Claudette stepped out of the room.

Pen had a minute alone to think. Not always a good thing. All right, so, you almost died. Let's re-evaluate your life. You should probably go to the gym more, and stop eating so much chocolate… and pasta… and bread… yeah… just eat healthier. You should probably cut your students some slack, and stop giving them so many papers to write… on second thought… that doesn't need to be changed. Oh shit! Her classes!

"They're on their way." Claudette said, coming back into the room. Pen asked her if she knew what they were doing about her classes.

"Your department head, Dr. Hart, has cancelled your classes for the rest of the week. He said not to worry about that stuff right now. When you're better you'll have a meeting with him to discuss what to do. He actually came in and brought flowers from the whole department."

Claudette motioned to one of the bouquets of flowers that were sitting on the windowsill in her room.

"The one with all the lilies… your Navy guy brought those for you."

Pen smiled. The lilies were even more beautiful because Steve had gotten them for her.

"And that one is from Rachel, her husband, and Grace. And that one is from Chin and Kono at Five-0. I met them briefly, such nice people! And the one on the end is from Danny and Kathryn."

Flowers were one of the universal objects that just made anyone sick feel better. And it did make Pen feel better.

"I wasn't sure about you moving out here by yourself. When Danny moved I felt a little better. But being here and seeing all the people you've met and that care about you… I've changed my mind."

"The scenery isn't bad either, is it?" Pen asked her mom.

"No, it isn't. Although I haven't seen much since I got here. When you get out of this place, you'll have to take me on a tour."

"What about your work?"

"I told them what had happened. They're giving me as long as I need. They've got a substitute, so… don't worry about it." Claudette answered.

"Look who's back from the dead!"

Pen looked up and there was Danny with little Grace standing beside him. Her face lit up when she saw her Aunt Pen awake and alive. She ran to the bed and gingerly hugged her aunt, mindful of the cords and tubes.

"Aunt Pen! You're ok!"

"You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?" Pen joked. Grace smiled and kissed her cheek. "You want to lay up here with me?"

Grace looked to Claudette, who in turn nodded.

"How about you come over on this side, Grace. Less tubing over here, and you won't bump her boo-boo."

Grace practically ran around to the other side of the bed, removed her shoes, and slowly angled herself in beside her godmother. This was the other thing in Pen's universe that made her feel better, loads better, knowing that her goddaughter was safe and sound.

"You liked my picture?" Grace asked, noticing that it had moved from its spot.

"I _loved_ your picture, thank you very much."

Danny walked further into the room and took the chair the doctor had vacated a few minutes ago. He reached out to grab her hand. She smiled at him. Why had she been mad at him again?

"Listen… Pen… I'm s—"

"It's fine, Danny. Let's forget about it." Pen said.

He nodded and smiled.

"So…" Pen said, looking to change the subject. "Tell me, what happened when I started straddling the line between life and death."

"Steve arrested Peterson, after doing some behavior modification, and he's going to go away for a LONG time. Steve may have leaned on him in interrogation a little and got him to name his accomplice. They're going to nab him the next time he's in the country. St. John is dead, and ICE is down there as we speak taking care of the artifacts. They actually would like to speak with you at some point. They'll be here the rest of the week so…"

"Yeah, that would be cool." Pen agreed.

"Oh, and, of course, whenever you're ready, we'll have to get your statement for our report and for court proceedings and all that. We got Kathryn's all ready, and yours will be a corroboration thing. No big deal. Speaking of Kathryn, she said she'd be here as soon as her class lets out." Danny added.

A few minutes later, a knock came at the open door. Everyone looked up and Pen's heart leapt. It was Steve.

"Uncle Stevie!" Grace greeted him. He smiled widely back at her.

"Hey Grace. Good to see you're protecting your godmother."

In response, Grace cuddled closer into Pen's side. Pen laughed.

"Hey, so, Monkey, would you like something from the food court downstairs? Ice cream, maybe? Claudette, could I get you a cup of coffee or something?" Danny asked. It was obvious he wanted to give Pen and Steve a few minutes alone.

Claudette helped Grace off the bed and with her shoes, and then the three of them left the room, with Steve still standing awkwardly at the door.

"You can come in and sit down you know. I've heard that you know that chair well." Pen joked, pointing at the chair that Danny had left.

He smiled sheepishly and easily slid into the chair.

"I also heard that you stayed there long enough that you made some nurses pass out with your stench."

"I didn't make them pass out!" Steve replied, defensively. Pen laughed until she clutched her side at the twinge of pain. The smile left Steve's face instantly and he sat closer, looking for any sign of more discomfort in case she pulled a stitch.

Pen breathed a couple of times and got the pain under control. She rested her hand on Steve's hand, which he had placed on the edge of her bed. In response, he turned his hand over and held hers and put his forehead down on their clasped hands.

She wished that she could bring her other arm over to touch him, but she was tied to her IV, and couldn't move it without pulling the needle out. So, instead, she just talked to him.

"Steve. Look at me, Steve. Everything's fine. I'm here. I didn't go anywhere."

He lifted his head, and his eyes looked stormy and intense and Pen felt swept into them.

"You could've_ died_, Penny." He told her, in this heart wrenchingly pained voice.

"But I didn't… I'm right here." She consoled, even though at the time it had been happening, she thought she was dying too.

"It's my fault. It's all my fault." He choked out.

This was weird seeing Steve like this. He wasn't crying, oh no, Pen knew that he was trained to keep those kinds of emotions tightly locked away, but the look in his eyes was saying enough. He felt like it was his fault she had been stabbed.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about." Pen said, grasping his hand tighter in hers. "I may be looped out on pain meds, but I seem to remember that crazy blonde bimbo was the one that stabbed me and not Lieutenant Commander Stephen McGarrett."

He sighed, and put his free hand over their two clasped hands.

"I might as well have been the one. I should have been there to protect you; you shouldn't have been kidnapped in the first place. But it was my fault because I got you involved in the case."

"Actually, you may have come to me to ask me some questions, but _I_ was the one getting all buddy-buddy with Peterson. You had no part in that, in fact you were trying to tell me to stay away." Damn his stubbornness! The man could be so thick headed.

He was silent for a couple of minutes, looking anywhere but at her. This was really hurting her. It was hurting her that the man felt like it was his fault she was sitting here in this hospital bed right now.

"Something tells me if one of your SEAL buddies was in my place you wouldn't be acting this way."

Steve finally looked at her.

"You'd probably make some manly joke or other and tell him to stop acting like a pussy and get better already." Pen laughed.

Steve didn't.

"I thought you were dead." He practically whispered. "When you closed your eyes and your head fell back… I thought you were really gone. The paramedics came and rushed you out of there. Your blood was all over my hands and clothes. They were working on you in the ambulance all the way here… it was…"

He sighed.

"I've lost too many people in my life. And I don't think I could've stood it if… if I had lost you."

"Well… you didn't lose me Steve, I'm right here." She told him, wanting to smack him on the forehead to get his head straightened out. She _wasn't_ dead, and he should be more focused on that fact than _if_ she had died.

He leaned forward and captured her lips. Pen's eyes instantly fell shut. At last, he was close enough for her to touch him with her IV-ed arm. His hair, when she grasped the back of his head, was still damp from his shower, and felt soft as usual.

"Ouch." Pen pulled away when Steve had brushed up against her wound. He backed off immediately, sitting heavily in the chair.

"God, I'm sorry."

Pen laughed at the look on his face, aneurysm face. He cracked another smile. There he was. There was the Steve she knew.

"Listen." Steve said. The serious look was back, and Pen wondered if something painful was about to be brought up. "I know that you saw that whole… thing with St. John and I…"

Pen sighed. Yep, there it was. It was now time for _the_ discussion. But something Kono had said to her echoed in her mind: _Let him tell you his side of the story_. It had applied to a different situation, yes, but it was the same principle here. So, she steeled herself for what he was going to say.

"Ok?" She prompted.

"It's not what it looked like, and you've got to believe me on that. She came on to me and kissed me. You just came in at the wrong time and left before you could see me shoving her off."

Charles had never even tried to deny what she had walked in on. He had simply told her that, yes, he was cheating on her, and proceeded to tell her the real reason he had been with her. Steve had never lied to Pen before… Hell he had given his opinion even when she didn't want it… so he had no reason to be lying to her now. Before, Mistrustful Pen would have been telling him to take a hike, but New Pen knew… just knew… that he was telling the truth. She wondered in the first place why she even _considered_… eh, it was in the past. The bitch was dead… and she had this gorgeous man in front of her that was looking at her like she was the most beautiful woman on the planet even though she must look like absolute shit.

"I can vouch for him." A voice said at the door. Steve turned around to see Kono and Chin standing in the doorway. Kono was holding a tinfoil covered paper plate.

"Sorry." Kono said again. "We could come back…"

"No, please, come in guys." Pen said. Steve looked back at her, and she just smiled at him. Then he knew that there was no way she could hate him.

"Hey girl. How're you feeling? Danny just called to tell us you were awake!" Kono asked, going to the other side of the bed and placing the plate on the over bed table.

"Eh, I feel like I got stabbed, but other than that I'm pretty peachy." Pen replied.

Kono and Chin chuckled. Kono then reached back over for the plate and handed it to Pen.

"Since we never got to have our date…"

Underneath the tin foil were perfectly made macaroons. Pen smiled.

"Thanks so much, Kono! I'm going to have to savor these while I'm in here. I heard that the hospital food is better than average, but I don't think I can live off Jell-O very long. I hate Jell-O."

"Well there you go! If you run out, though, before you get out of here, just let me know and I'll bring you more! When did they say you could get out of here?" Kono asked.

"The doc wants to keep me for the rest of the week for observation, but I can't guarantee him I won't go crazy before then."

"You'll have something to look forward too when you get out though." Steve spoke up. She turned her head back in his direction.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm planning a barbeque at my house when you get out. Grace has been helping me plan it too. She convinced me to buy _Guitar Hero_, and she's bringing her copy of _The Pacifier._"

Kono and Chin snorted.

"Boss, you have _Guitar Hero_? Do you even have a gaming system?"

"Yeah." Steve said, defensively. "I've got an XBOX 360."

Chin laughed again.

"What do you play on there, boss?"

"_Call of Duty_. Mostly _Black Ops_. But I've got_ World at War_ too."

Chin just shook his head. He couldn't believe that the SEAL that couldn't stay still for more than two minutes actually had the patience to sit down and play a video game. He just didn't seem like the gaming type. And it would surely be an interesting sight to watch him play _Guitar Hero_.

"Damn, I must have missed the memo about the party in here or something." Kathryn commented, appearing in the door. Pen smiled at her friend as she came in and greeted Steve, Kono and Chin. Kathryn shook the bag that she had been carrying and made herself at home sitting at the foot of Pen's bed.

"I brought you some contraband." She said, throwing the bag at her. It landed in Pen's lap, which she then rifled through with her free hand.

Inside were some magazines, including Pen's favorite _Entertainment Weekly_ and even an issue of _Cosmopolitan_. She had once told Kathryn that she bought that magazine every once in a while just to have a good laugh. Also, Kathryn had stashed a novel called _The_ _Friday Night Knitting Club,_ which came highly recommended. And last, but certainly not least, all kinds of chocolate was hiding out at the bottom of the bag. Pen laughed and repeated what she had said to Kono.

"Just make sure you hide it somewhere, ok. This one nurse that you have… she's kind of a Nazi. She's on the later shift so you haven't met her yet. She'll take them away from you." Kathryn told her, which made Pen wonder.

"You've been sitting here too?"

"Uh, yeah! It didn't just take your mom to convince Steve to leave and get a shower, which, thanks dude for doing that because you were rank."

Pen laughed but Steve looked pissed. He was tired of people talking about his personal hygiene. Couldn't they understand he hadn't wanted to leave Pen? That he had wanted to be the first thing she saw when she finally woke up? He felt her fingers stroking the inside of his palm, and he instantly felt calmer.

A few minutes later, Danny, Grace and Claudette came back and it was _really_ a party then. They tried to stay as quiet as they could but every once in awhile they let out a bought of raucous laughter that had a nurse coming in to "shush" them. This only succeeded in making them laugh harder.

Eventually, Dr. Yablonski came back and told everyone to clear out while he did her check up. He only allowed Claudette and Steve to stay. He gave her the clean bill of health and told her that he'd be back in the morning to check in on her again. In the mean time, if she needed anything, call a nurse.

Everyone was only allowed back in long enough to say goodbye, and then visiting hours were over. Grace gave her a big kiss on the cheek, and promised to see her tomorrow. Chin and Kono promised another visit as well, and Danny gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Welcome back, kiddo." He told her. She smiled slightly at him and patted his cheek with her free hand.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Kathryn said to Danny as he made his way out of the room.

"7 o'clock right?"

She nodded, and very subtly clasped hands, and squeezed. Pen saw the whole thing. Not very subtle actually.

Now, it was only Kathryn, Steve and Claudette.

"Will all you people go home and get some real sleep now?" Pen asked them. "Seriously. I'm fine. I'm awake and I'm alive and I'm not going anywhere. You _can_ leave me in peace now."

Steve looked like Pen had just proposed to take his favorite night vision goggles away from him; Kathryn laughed and so did Claudette.

"Will you do me a favor, Kathryn, and get my mom set up in my apartment?"

"Kind of already have, but she didn't want to leave you so… but I'll take her now."

"Thanks. Mom, go and get some sleep. I'm fine. You can come back tomorrow."

Claudette didn't look like she was going to agree, but sighed and nodded. She gave her daughter a kiss and bade her and Steve good-bye. Kathryn took Pen's mom's arm, and led her out of the room.

"You too." Pen said to Steve. "Really. Go home, go to sleep. Hell, go to work in the morning or something. Just… stop worrying. I'm fine. I'm NOT going anywhere."

He looked like he was going to argue, but Pen just held up her hand.

"For me, Steve. I'm worried about you. Just… go home, sleep. I'll be here tomorrow and the next day and so on."

He was silent for a time before he sighed and finally agreed to leave her. He stroked her hair, and leaned forward (watching out for her wound this time) to place a sweet kiss on her lips.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

She nodded and smiled. He kept looking back at her as he was leaving the room, and paused at the doorway, before finally disappearing from sight.

Pen heaved a sigh. She was tired. Really tired. All was right in the world, Grace was ok, Kathryn was ok; everyone was all right. She wasn't dead; always a good thing, and she had a feeling that, as corny as it sounds, her life was just beginning.

**A/N: Whew. Well, as long as you guys don't hate me… haha! Pen couldn't be dead! I just wouldn't have had it in me to do that to her… and to Steve! **

**Thank you, thank you to all that reviewed and added my story/me to their alert/favorites list. It really means a lot! And, as usual, thank you to rice117 and Gizzi1213. My real life, not in my head, muses! **


	23. Chapter 23: On the Mend

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: On the Mend**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0… if I did… we would've known right away WHY there was suddenly all $28 million back in the HPD locker… because I'd love to know how it got there!**

**A/N: The answer to the previous chapters challenge was: Dr. Yablonski. It's Alex O'Loughlin's character from Three Rivers. And this chapter also features a nod to another character from Three Rivers. Can anyone point it out?**

That night, Pen had the first of many nightmares. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, honestly had never crossed her mind. Apparently, she must have thought she was the most well adjusted person on the planet or something.

She was back in that warehouse, reliving the fight with Detective St. John over and over and over again. Like it was a broken record, just stab, after stab, after stab. And Pen could feel the pain again. And damn was it a searing, debilitating pain.

"Ms. Harrison!"

A blessed voice rang through all the blood that clouded Pen's dream vision.

"Ms. Harrison!"

Pen's eyes shot open and she swallowed a scream. There was a nurse standing at her bedside, rubbing her shoulder (after she had been shaking it to get Pen to wake up).

"You all right, hon? Your heart rate started going up… Nightmare?" The nurse, Nurse Bailey, according to her nametag, asked.

Pen's throat felt raw like she had been screaming for hours, but she managed to get a response out.

"Yes, just a nightmare."

"It was some nightmare you were having! Here, drink some water." The nurse answered, reaching over her to the over bed table to pour a cup of water. She took long pulls from the straw, feeling herself finally calming down. Great, Pen really hoped this wasn't a common occurrence for the rest of her life. Sure, she had been stabbed, it hurt like Hell, and the recovery is going to suck, but she didn't want to have to relive it in her head whenever she closed her eyes!

"Thank you." Pen said to the nurse when she had drained the cup.

"No problem, hon. You need anything else?"

Pen just shook her head, and the nurse left the room. According to the clock on the wall, it was now five o'clock in the morning, and there was no way Pen was going to be able to fall back asleep. Not after that nightmare.

Through the blinds of the window, Pen could see the sky starting to lighten outside. Another day, and Pen was alive. What more could one ask for?

She grabbed the remote for the TV hanging from the ceiling and flipped it on. Ah, it was still that time of the morning where programming had yet to switch from infomercials to re-runs of television shows. Damn. To amuse herself, Pen finally settled on an infomercial for the Slap Chop, which she found ironic considering the guy that advertises the product ended up slapping a prostitute. The funny things in life. That's what Pen was really going to start appreciating now.

Pen watched infomercials and the light outside growing brighter as the sun came over the horizon. Soon, it was eight o'clock, and it was a shift change for the nurses. Pen wasn't sure who Kathryn had been referring too when she said a Nazi Nurse, but Pen had yet to experience her. Nurse Bailey had been nothing but kind to her; nothing at all like Nurse Ratched from _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_.

Around 8:30, while Pen was thoroughly engrossed in re-runs of _Angel_, a new nurse came in. She was young, pretty, had auburn colored hair and wore bright pink scrubs, sporting a ridiculously happy smile on her face.

"Morning Ms. Harrison! I'm Nurse Acosta, but you can call me Pam! I'll be assisting Dr. Yablonski with your check-up and then hopefully we can get you out of the bed!"

Oh boy. This really chipper girl had just said the magic words! "Out of the bed!" Yes, please! The nightmare was instantly forgotten, and Pen was smiling as widely as this chick.

"Sounds fantastic!"

And just like that… Pen's mood brightened.

Dr. Yablonski soon came and left, giving her the go ahead to get out of the bed. Of course, she wasn't going to be able to stand for long, and she had to take it easy, but he didn't see why she couldn't have a little roll around the hospital grounds in a wheelchair. That part didn't really excite Pen, but the rest of it did! As per Dr. Y, Pen was able to stop her IV drips and would be able to take medicine orally now. That meant that, all of her tubing was gone, thank God, but would still need to be hooked up to heart monitors and such. Whatever, as long as she was getting out of this bed.

"Pam… is there ANY way that I could get a shower." Pen asked the nurse as the auburn haired woman gently removed the IV from Pen's vein.

"If you can get up out of this bed, I think we can make it happen!"

More magic words. Pen really liked this woman.

Pam lowered the bed, and then lowered the railings on either side of Pen. She helped drag Pen's legs off the bed and carefully helped her stand up. It was a little weird having her legs feel like Jello after not having used them for a couple of days, but with every assisted step she took, she felt her legs getting stronger.

The bathroom was right there. The handle was within reach, and she made the last few steps without Pam. She probably could have kicked up her feet, but she couldn't do that even with full faculty of her legs.

"My ass isn't hanging out of this gown is it?" Pen asked Pam, finally realizing this possibility. Pam laughed and shook her head.

"No, I promise, you have a full hospital gown on."

Pen sighed. Thank God. That's all she needed was for the nurse to see her backside.

"So… am I good for a shower?" Pen asked Pam.

"Yes! Let me get you all set up…"

Pam and Pen went into the small bathroom that had a toilet, sink and shower. There were some travel-sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and there were clean towels and washcloths set out. Pam turned on the shower and got it too a decent temperature.

"Ok… here's the deal. I'll let you shower by yourself BUT if at any time you feel your legs giving out, SIT in the chair and yell for me, ok? I'm going to get some fresh sheets on your bed, and a fresh gown for you. Word to the wise, be gentle with how much you stretch, we don't need any stitches being pulled, ok? I know it'll be hard to not get your dressings wet, but try your best to not soak them. I'll change them anyway when you get out."

Pen saluted at her, and Pam shook her head as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

Blessed shower! How wonderful it felt to rinse out her hair and feel the warm water on her body. She was never so glad to shampoo and condition in her life!

As Pam was working to change the sheets on Pen's (the patient had insisted on being called this) bed, a knock came at the door. It was Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, the handsome man that had never left Pen's side. Pam had looked on at the scene, Steve holding Pen's hand, sitting there for hours, and had thought it extremely sweet and romantic.

"Did she escape?" He asked, looking slightly worried that Pen wasn't within immediate eyesight. This made Pam's smile widen even more, if it was possible.

"No, she's taking a shower. She was actually singing a minute ago."

He chuckled.

"You can come in! Make yourself comfortable. She'll be done shortly I'm sure."

Steve followed the nurse's instructions and set the duffel bag he had been carrying over a shoulder, down in the chair he had been using the past few days, and set a white grocery bag on top.

"Her mom had me bring this." Steve said, indicating the duffel. "It's got some clothes in it for her, and I think toiletries. Her mom said sweat pants and t-shirts, which I assume is ok with you."

"Of course! Pen will probably love that." Pam had only known a conscious Pen for all of thirty minutes or so, and already seemed to know what Pen was looking for, comfort-wise.

"Oh!" Pam said, suddenly getting an idea. "When she's done, the doctor gave her permission to have a little jaunt out of the hospital, strictly on the grounds, of course. I was going to chaperone her myself, but since you're here, maybe you'd like to do the honors?"

Steve nodded and smiled.

"I would like that, thanks."

"No problem."

Pam heard the sound of the shower being turned off, and knocked on the door.

"Entre vous!" Pen replied, and Pam stuck her head around the door. Pen had a towel wrapped around her, and she was already looking like she felt like a million bucks. Ok, maybe only half a million bucks, for now.

"How was it? Legs hold out all right?" Pam asked her.

"Yes ma'am!" Pen replied. Pam shook her head.

"Commander McGarrett is here to see you. He's brought a bag your mom packed with some clothes. You would probably prefer that over the gown, I'm sure."

"Hell yeah!" Pen answered.

Steve smiled at the interaction between Pen and her nurse. Pen seemed like she was already feeling loads better. This made Steve happy. Very happy.

"I'll bring you clothes and your toiletries."

Pen heaved a sigh when the door clicked shut again. She was going to be able to brush her teeth! Whew! Thank God! And Steve was here? Great, she was looking a hot mess and he was here to see her!

Pam came back with the supplies, and also what she needed to change Pen's dressings, which she did easily enough. Then left to give Pen privacy to change, stating that if she needed help to dress, just call. Pen's mouth felt a million times better when she had completed the ten-minute brushing she had decided upon. She brushed her hair out and even applied the mousse to hold her curls so they wouldn't frizz. She had no problems getting dressed. The sweat pants felt comfortable, the waistband wasn't hitting her wound, and she was glad to have her favorite t-shirt that depicted the NYPD logo. She had gotten this particular shirt when she had visited the New York City Police Museum, while she had attended Columbia.

Steve was waiting for her when she stepped out of the bathroom. He stood behind a wheelchair, holding on to the handles. He smiled at her when she appeared.

"Your chariot awaits."

"Where's my overly excited nurse?" Pen asked, after having a good chuckle. Her wound ached a little but it wasn't as painful as it had been.

"She had other rounds to make, so I will be your chauffeur."

Pen grinned broadly and shook her head.

"You know, I thought I had told you to go into work today, and not waste your time around me."

The smile fell from his face, and he was Serious Steve.

"If I was at work, I would be distracted by thinking about you, therefore rendering me useless. It's fine; we've got nothing major going on. Now will you sit in the damn chair!"

"Ok! Ok! Geez!"

And she sat gingerly in the wheelchair. Good thing too, because she had started feeling her legs wobbling a bit.

"I don't understand why you would want to wheel your invalid girlfriend around." Pen mumbled. Steve chose to ignore the comment. He turned her around to face him, and knelt in front of her.

"I have something for you." He told her.

"Oh?" She asked.

"Yeah…" And he reached behind him for the plastic grocery bag and extracted a black, narrow box. He placed it in her lap, and Pen instantly recognized the "All Star" logo. Pen just stared at the box, and then at him, because it was so nice to stare at him. There was happiness in his eyes and a corner of his mouth was quirked. Her mother had had to inform her of the fate of her clothes. Basically, they were put in the incinerator because of all the blood that had gotten on them. She had been a little peeved because they were her favorite pair of jeans, and her favorite pair of chucks. Danny had mentioned something about Pen making a comment to this effect when she was dying, but she honestly couldn't remember. But here was a new pair. A new pair that Steve had been thoughtful enough to buy her.

"Aren't you going to open it?" He asked her.

"I already know what's in it." She laughed.

"How do you know? How do you know I didn't take a Converse box and put something completely different in it?"

She opened the box, but as she had suspected there was a brand new pair of black Chucks. Steve turned around to dig in her duffel bag and came out with a pair of socks. And then, as lame and corny as it sounds to put it this way, he Cinderella-d her, by putting her socks and new Chucks on.

"Am I tying the laces too tightly?" He asked her. She just shook her head. When he had completed his task, he looked back up at her. "Is the fit ok? Your mom had to tell me your size."

"It's perfect." Pen mustered. He stood up a little, placing his hands on the arms of the wheelchair, and captured her lips. God she had missed this! Yesterday's had been too short lived and a little painful (because of the wound) but now she was totally in Heaven. Not the real Heaven, obviously, because she wasn't dead. She was very much alive, and Steve's kiss was proving that to her by firing all the nerve endings in her body. He pulled away, much to Pen's chagrin, and wheeled her toward the door.

"It's a nice day outside. Let's go enjoy it."

She sighed, and, even though it felt awkward at first, let him wheel her around.

* * *

It really was a beautiful day outside, but then again it _was_ Hawaii. Steve guided her to this courtyard garden that the hospital kept up. There were benches along the pathways and tons of flowers including hibiscus plants, which Pen was really starting to like.

While they walked, or rather Steve walked and pushed her, he told her about what was going on with the warehouse of artifacts and ICE. They were cataloging the rest of the artifacts Pen and Kathryn hadn't gotten to, and were contacting the countries of origin for their return. Apparently, it had been the biggest smuggling bust this particular team had ever seen.

"I think you'll like them… I've invited them to the barbeque." Steve told her. He had come to a stop by a bench, which he sat down on. Then, grabbed hold of the wheels and brought her closer to him so that their knees bumped.

"I can't wait to meet them, then." Pen replied. Then, she closed her eyes and titled her face up to the sun, taking in the rays. The warmth felt good on her face, and she couldn't wait to get free of her hospital room.

"How did you sleep last night?" Steve asked her. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and took hold of her hands. With his thumbs, he stroked the back of her hands, and thought went out the window. What had he asked her again?

"Fine." She lied. Too bad he could tell.

"Tell me the truth."

"I may have had a nightmare. And I may have not been able to go to sleep after I woke up from said nightmare." Pen admitted.

"I was afraid of that. If it continues, you're going to need to talk to somebody. I can't have you losing sleep." He told her, trying to sound commanding. She nodded in understanding.

"Yes, sir." She replied jokingly. He gave her the look that he meant business. If she was losing sleep, he was going force her to do something about it.

"Are you happy to see your mom? I mean… it would be better under different circumstances…"

"Yeah, I really miss her. Seeing her makes me homesick again. It makes me miss Virginia _and_ New York." She laughed. "I actually miss being cold."

"Tell me more."

"Well… I miss my little cousins; we've all gotten really close in the past few years. I miss my brother too, that pain in the ass."

Steve laughed.

"Do you miss your sister?" Pen asked him. He had mentioned her before, as more of a passing thought.

"Yeah. Yeah, I really do miss her. I tried to convince her to stay here permanently but… I felt like… it would be safer for her being in L.A."

And then Steve proceeded to tell Pen about the situation with his mom, the car bomb, Noshimuri, his dad, and the Yakuza. She clasped his hands tighter in hers. What an awful thing to have happen to someone!

"But anyway…" He began again after a moment of silence. Here comes the subject change. "What else do you miss about home?"

Pen sighed. Of course a _dude_ wouldn't want to talk more about his feelings. Especially a Navy SEAL _dude_.

"Um… well… I miss ice-skating. It was one of the things I liked to do to relax. I'm definitely not a pro or anything, way far from it. Plus, it can be a good work out."

"Ice-skating?" He asked, scrunching up his face in what looked like he was wincing.

"Yeah. Ice-skating. Didn't do any of that in the Academy? Or as a SEAL?" Pen asked.

"Actually… I did…" He trailed off. Pen felt like she was a story there being left untold. Judging by the look on his face, it didn't look like it was a good story.

"Can you not skate, Steve McGarrett?" Pen asked him with a knowing smile.

"I can skate!" He responded defensively, but Pen could tell he was fibbing.

"Uh huh."

"I can skate about as well as I can hit a baseball." Steve muttered.

"What?" Pen asked, confused.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." He said, rather _too_ quickly that it sounded suspiciously of another story he was keeping from her.

"So, where is my mom by the way? I mean, I'm glad she's taking some time to herself and not watching me every second."

"Kathryn was going to take her to lunch and then bring her here. I stopped by your apartment to check on her when I got your clothes. She's made herself comfortable. Now that the door is fixed." That last part, he added sheepishly.

"What was wrong with my door?" Pen asked, but she had a feeling. It made her want to laugh her ass off.

"I… I sort of kicked it down…"

"Ohhhh." Pen said, and finally let go of the laughter she had been holding in. She really didn't know why she was laughing. He had only kicked it down out of concern for her, probably because she had just been chloroformed and he was looking for her. His worry wasn't funny either, but it was just the image that she conjured in her head of Steve, hiking his leg up and busting down her door.

"I paid for it." He informed her. Pen didn't care. Honestly. It was still funny.

"You went all Commando Steve… for me?"

"I'd go Commando Steve for you any day, sweetheart."

Pen blushed. She had grown up around Navy men all her life. Lived down the road from Little Creek, which was a SEAL base (where Steve had spent some time), and Naval Station Norfolk, the largest Navy base in the world. She had never dated a Navy man until Steve. She had met plenty of military men in her life, and never had she met such people that had more honor and courage in their little finger than anyone else. For someone to promise that they would go all superhero for them… well… it was definitely a promise to take seriously.

"So… I want to thank you again, for my Chucks. You didn't have to…"

"I wanted to. I made a promise when you…" Steve trailed off again. Damn, Pen really wished she remembered what she had said while she was loopy because of blood loss. It would probably come back to her at some point, like amnesia patients, it would come back eventually. But… she needed to stop making comments involving the subject of her being stabbed or dying or any combination of the above.

"So…" She tried again.

"Hey." Came Danny's greeting. He had popped out of nowhere and sat down next to Steve on the bench. "Digging your new ride. Can I start calling you 'Wheels?'"

"Not if you want to keep your balls intact." Pen replied smoothly.

"Ouch! Ok, I deserved that."

Pen laughed.

"You haven't been making out with my best friend in public, have you?" Danny asked Steve.

"Not that it's any of your business… but no, I haven't." Steve replied.

"Good to know."

The three of them sat there for a little longer, just talking. Pen had been pleased to note the fact that Steve had yet to let go of her hands, even with the surprise arrival of Danny. But there they were, just chatting like nothing had ever been amiss between the three of them. Pen was totally fine with this fact.

Around eleven o'clock, Steve wheeled Pen back into the hospital, with Danny close on his heels. Steve hadn't wanted to get in trouble with Pam, in case the nurse had thought that Pen had escaped some how.

"Well, you're looking refreshed." Pam said as Steve wheeled her past the nurses' station.

"Yes! I feel like a new woman!" Pen told her.

"Good! Because it's time for another check up."

Pen groaned.

Once back in her room, Steve helped her out of the chair, practically lifting her up, and supported her until she sat on her bed. Pam took some vitals and ordered her to lay back and rest for a while, as well as take a dose of pain medicine. Apparently, all the excitement of being out probably would come back to haunt Pen later.

Pen didn't like how the pain medicine made her feel a little loopy, so for the rest of the afternoon, she ended up just lying in the bed, talking with whomever came and went. Steve stayed the whole time, no matter how many times she told him to go into work or do something else, but he wouldn't leave her. Her mom had arrived around one o'clock with a message that Kathryn would be back in the afternoon after her class. Danny left a couple of times to work with Kono and Chin on a minor burglary case they had gotten, and in the afternoon Rachel came with Grace.

The guilt came instantly when Pen saw Rachel. The British woman seemed to pick up on it, and before Pen could even open her mouth, she cut her off.

"Do not even think about it, Penelope Harrison. It is not your fault. End. Of. Discussion."

And apparently it was, because the subject was never brought up again.

Rachel was glad to hear that everything had been worked out between Danny, Steve and Pen. It had been an amusing story when Rachel replayed what had gone down the afternoon of the brunch. When Grace had gone out of the room to get a soda, Pen told Rachel about how the little girl had asked what "fucking" was. Rachel actually laughed. The poor kid was going to have a complex or something. And, after glancing at Steve, he really looked like he was going to have an aneurysm, and not just because he was making _the_ face.

When Dr. Yablonski came around to do his evening rounds, he had good news. She was going to be able to be discharged Saturday, pretty early in the morning. She was healing nicely, and she reacted well to her little outing that morning.

At last, she was going to get out of this place. More than twenty fours hours conscious, and she was already getting cabin fever. But her release was in sight, and she was a few steps closer to getting back to her daily grind. Thank God.

**A/N: Hey guys! So, there's two more chapters after this one. But, I promise, this isn't the last time you'll be hearing of Pen and Steve. I'm working on planning out a sequel and I'm hoping you guys will like it just as much! **

**Thank you, thank you to my reviewers! And to all that did the Alert stuff. You guys are awesome! And, of course, Gizzi1213 and rice117. Seriously, I may owe you guys my second born too…**


	24. Chapter 24: BBQs Are Better than Brunch

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Twenty-Four: BBQs Are Better Than Brunches**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0… if I did… there would be a new episode on Monday and not in February or whatever nonsense that is.**

It felt like a year before Saturday finally came around. Before that, an HPD detective had come around to take her official statement on what had occurred earlier in the week. What an exciting time that had been to relive her time in captivity.

Pen was really sad to leave Pam. She really was the sweetest person Pen had ever met, and tried to make Pen as comfortable as possible. Dr. Yablonski came back that beautiful Saturday morning to give her final hospital check up. He gave her a clean bill of health, and the go ahead for her release.

"Here's my card. Make sure you call my secretary on Monday to schedule an appointment for mid-week. It won't be anything crazy; it's just a progress report. Just so I know that you're doing fine and there are no complications. And we'll take the stitches out as well."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Y. I really appreciate all you've done for me." Pen said.

"No problem at all, Ms. Harrison. Now, enjoy your freedom. I'm going to get your release papers ready. You should be out of here within the hour." And with a final smile, he left the room.

"Well, he had the best bedside manner of any doctor I've ever seen." Claudette commented.

Pen chuckled and hopped off her bed, which she had been sitting on. It was just her mom with her today, as everyone else was off doing something else. Five-0 had picked up a major lead on their burglary case, and Pen had finally convinced Steve to go and catch some bad guys. She was sure it would make him feel better. He had reluctantly agreed, but kept calling her every hour. Kathryn was off running some errands in preparation for the barbeque that was going down tomorrow, and Pen had instructed her to pick up some ingredients for baking. Pen still owed Steve a cheesecake, and she figured she would make something else for the barbeque. Claudette wasn't thrilled that the first thing her daughter wanted to do was stand in the kitchen all day and bake, but resigned herself to keeping an eye on her and assisting her when needed.

Thirty minutes later, Pam came in wagging some papers at Pen.

"Looky what I've got!"

Pen laughed. Finally! Freedom!

Pam was kind enough to help carry down the flowers that Pen had gotten, which miraculously were still alive. Whenever plants got around Pen, they didn't last very long. Kathryn was waiting at the curb for them, having completed her errands. She walked up to Pen, and gave her a bone-crushing hug.

"Ok… seriously… I can't… breath." Pen gasped.

"Whoops. Sorry." Kathryn said, brushing a stray tear from her cheek. "Just happy to see that you are out and about and…"

"Alive?"

"Yeah, that too."

Pen laughed.

The trunk was filled with groceries, so they ended up shoving all of Pen's stuff on one end of the backseat. Then, Pen tried to get into the backseat, but her mother stopped her, and ordered her to the passenger seat. Pen then began to argue with her mother, until Pam chimed in and told Pen it would be better on her wound to get in the front seat. She looked at Pam like she had committed the ultimate betrayal. Pam just laughed and hugged her.

"Take care of yourself, ok." The nurse said.

"Yes ma'am. Thank you for everything." Pen replied.

Pam bade goodbye to Kathryn and Claudette, and with a final wave, disappeared back inside the hospital.

"All right, let's go. I've got things that need to go in Steve's refrigerator."

They all piled into the Honda, and Kathryn took off.

Pen had almost forgotten what the outside world had looked like. After all, she had been stuck in the hospital for almost a week, of which she was out of it for two days. The blues and greens of the world seemed a lot brighter and the texture of the palm trees and the smoothness of the water seemed more pronounced to Pen. Maybe this was another side effect of a near-death experience?

It felt really good to be home, Pen realized when she walked into her apartment (after opening the newly replaced door). She felt like she hadn't been there in ages! Pen tried to help haul up the groceries she had requested, but Kathryn and Claudette told her to sit down on the couch and not to move. Pen hated this. It wasn't a big deal walking up and down steps!

A knock came at the door and Mrs. Smith announced herself.

"Mrs. Smith! Please, come in, come in!" Pen then proceeded to get up off the couch. Kathryn and her mom would have to get over that.

The older woman had brought her a casserole. "For you and that man of yours to eat" she had said. Mrs. Smith had given her a hug and started going a mile a minute on how worried and frightened she was for Pen. Then, she said she had her crocheting circle to get to, and told Pen she would check up on her in a few days.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon Pen spent in the kitchen. Kathryn had left to drop the rest of the groceries at Steve's and promised to talk to them later. Claudette sat at the kitchen table, half reading her novel and half watching her daughter. But Pen was more than good. She smoothly maneuvered around the kitchen, mixing and pouring and generally feeling like herself again.

While the cheesecake was baking, Pen began making a generic brownie recipe. One could never go wrong with brownies. She even kept nuts out of half in case anyone had a nut allergy. She also knew Grace didn't really care for nuts in her brownies; another reason why to leave them out of half of the recipe.

When those were in the oven, and the cheesecake was done, Pen finally sat down at the table with her mom. She was a little worn out, but still feeling all right.

"What do you want for dinner tonight?" Claudette asked her.

"Pizza?" Pen suggested.

"I should know the answer by now. Every time I asked you that when you were younger, that was your response. Shocker."

Pen's phone (which she was so very glad to see was still alive as well) began to vibrate. Steve's picture, one she had taken at their outing to _La Cantina_ popped up. Pen smiled.

"Hello."

"Heard you busted out of the hospital today."

"Yeah, you know me, total rebel."

Steve chuckled.

"I'm on my way to see you. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"I'll be waiting for you."

Pen's heart flip-flopped. He was finally able to come and see her! She had been thinking about him all day, especially while making his cheesecake. Hoping that he would be able to finish his case sooner rather than later.

Shortly, a knock came at the door. Looking through the peephole, Pen saw that it was Steve, so she quickly opened the door.

He wore his usual work clothes, khaki cargo pants, black t-shirt, and combat boots. He must have ditched his gun because it was no longer attached to his hip, and neither was his badge.

Steve was giving her the once over as well, taking her in. She wore sweatpants still so as to refrain from rubbing her wound. She wore a t-shirt, and she had her new black Chucks on. Steve smiled widely. He felt elated that she liked her Chucks so much.

"Hi." Pen greeted him, rather lamely.

In response, he reached forward, cupped her face and brought his lips to hers. His kiss was full of happiness. Happiness that she was still alive and happiness she had finally gotten out of the hospital. Pen could only grasp on to his biceps (were they always that firm?) and try to match his actions. Why didn't they kiss like this more often?

"Ahem. Hello, Stephen."

Ah shit. Interrupted again. By Pen's mom. Awkward.

They sprang apart instantly like they were teenagers (instead of grown adults) caught by a parent. Instead, Steve put his arm around Pen's shoulders and brought her close. Again… just a little awkward.

"Mrs. Sheppard." Steve greeted back.

Pen led Steve into the kitchen, away from the awkward bubble, where she presented him with the cheesecake.

"A chocolate peanut butter cheesecake… for you."

"Wow." Steve breathed. "This looks delicious. Am I allowed to eat it?"

Pen laughed.

"It _is_ for eating. Here, let me cut some for you."

Reaching into one of her cabinets, she pulled out a plate, and then grabbed the necessary utensils for him to eat it with and for her to cut it. She pushed him down into a chair at the table, and turned back to the counter to cut him a slice. Pen proceeded to plop the plate down in front of him, and then sat in a chair across from him.

"Go on." She said, elbow on the table, resting her chin on her hand, looking at him expectantly.

He dug his fork in, took a huge bite, and chewed. For a few seconds, the only sound was that of the TV show that Pen's mom was watching. But the look on Steve's face said it all. His eyes were pretty much rolling into the back of his head, and he was sighing… in a good way.

"Holy… God…" Was all he managed.

"You like it then?" Pen asked.

"Dear God… it's…" But he couldn't really finish because he had to take another bite. The slice was gone in at least two more bites, and he cut himself another hunk. She didn't know how he could eat more of this stuff because it was so rich! But he did, and the little sighs he was making, let Pen know he was thoroughly enjoying it.

"I'm going to have to hide this somewhere so Danny doesn't find it, aren't I?" He asked when he had finished the slice.

"Yes, you're going to have to. He can sniff out my baking miles away. I swear to God."

He laughed.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

She just smiled and shrugged.

"I'm glad to see you out of that room." He spoke again, reaching across the table to put his hand over hers.

"I'm glad to be out of that room, too."

"Are you going to be up for this tomorrow?" Steve asked her.

"Of course! I'm ready to party." Pen joked. She was just happy to be back to a (semi) normal state.

"That's good, because I don't think Grace would have it any other way."

"Probably not… Uncle Stevie." Pen teased.

He grinned.

"I think it's catchy."

* * *

The next day, Pen woke bright and early. She had no idea how she had gotten to sleep the previous night because of her mother's snoring. Pen's couch was a pull out, and had set her mother up there, but apparently, there weren't enough walls or sound barriers between her and Pen. But, Pen managed to finally doze, and it was dream free (as she had been for the past couple of nights) and restful.

She got up and got herself ready for the barbeque. Steve had told her he would come to get them around noon. She and her mom took turns showering, and Pen had to stop and take a look at her battle scar. The stitches were still in (Pam had told her they should stay in for seven to ten days… in her case maybe more ten, and she would have to still restrict her movements to avoid pulling any). The scar would end up being about an inch and a half in length. It ran vertically underneath her left breast, and above her waistline. She would always have the scar. Dr. Yablonski had warned her, but she accepted it. It was surely the only battle scar she'd ever get… because she was through fighting psychotic, blonde dirty cops.

At some point Pen mustered her best little kid voice to get her mommy to change her bandage for her. Claudette just shook her head. Her twenty-nine year old daughter was just too funny sometimes.

Pen dressed in jeans this time, her black Chucks and a green, V-neck, three quarter length sleeved shirt. Pen felt like this event warranted something more than a t-shirt. Ok, maybe that wasn't the real reason. She wanted to look good for Steve. Face facts.

At noon, a knock came at the door, and it was one of those knocks that you could tell was a little person because of how light it was. Pen could only imagine who that could be. Pen opened the door and smiled at Grace. And then laughed. Grace was wearing a cute yellow sundress, and these huge Aviators that practically encompassed her whole face.

"Where'd you get those, Grace?" Pen asked her.

"They're Uncle Stevie's. He's letting me wear them! Don't I look cool like him?"

It was probably one of _the _most adorable sights Pen had ever seen.

"Totally. You look really cool." Pen admitted.

"YAY! Come on! Uncle Stevie's waiting downstairs for us."

"We're coming, we're coming!"

Pen grabbed her brownies and did the pocket-pat check: keys (check), phone (check), etcetera.

"All right! Let's go!"

Steve was waiting out front, leaning against the side of his pickup truck, arms crossed in front of his chest. It was the return of Casual Steve. He wore his black board shorts again, a t-shirt with "NAVY" emblazoned across it. His tattoos were half covered by the sleeves of his t-shirt, and Pen found this to be incredibly sexy. She also noticed that he was wearing his black high top Chucks. This made her smile. And also, since Grace had his Aviators, he was back to wearing his Oakleys.

He righted himself when they came down the steps.

"Good morning, Mrs. Sheppard." Steve greeted.

"Steve, you can call me Claudette. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Claudette." He returned. She nodded her head once, and then pulled herself up into the back of Steve's truck. Grace hurled herself at Steve and he lifted her up into the truck. Once she was safely situated and all limbs were free from the door, he shut it, and turned back to Pen.

"May I assist you?" He joked, bowing and making a sweeping motion toward the open passenger side door. Pen laughed.

"Thanks, but I think I can get up there myself. I'm not an invalid."

"So you've said, but you still have—"

"Get out of my way." Pen said before he could use the words "delicate" or "fragile" to describe her. She put her foot on the running board and slowly lifted herself into the cab of the truck and shut the door. Steve ran around the hood of the car to get to the driver seat.

Grace talked a mile a minute all the way to Steve's house. She looked so adorable with those sunglasses that Pen could barely pay attention to what Grace was saying. Something about eating as many of Pen's brownies as she could, and playing _Guitar Hero_ with Uncle Stevie.

Steve pulled down his driveway and Danny's silver Camaro was there as well as Kathryn's Honda, and a red Chevy that Pen didn't recognize.

There were such delicious smells emanating from Steve's house as the group entered. Grace, Aviators still in place, ran out the sliding glass door to the back of the house where Danny and Chin stood by a grille. Both were chatting and nursing beers.

Kono was in the kitchen putting together various types of salads: pasta, potato, fruit, and a regular salad. She greeted Pen and her mom as they came into the room, and hugs were exchanged. Kono took Pen's brownies and set them elsewhere.

"Can I help with anything?" Pen asked.

"No. You're not doing a damn thing. Now get something to drink and sit somewhere!" Kono replied.

Why in the Hell was everyone treating her like she was made of glass. She had been stabbed, not had something amputated!

Pen grabbed a Coke from a cooler and went out to the backyard. The ocean was a little choppy today, and the wind was going, but all in all another beautiful day in paradise. Steve had joined the huddle of men around the grille, which made Pen laugh. The manliness oozing from that group was too much. What was it about grilling that brought it out?

Grace came running up to her from where the little girl had been building a sand castle on the beach.

"Aunt Pen! Will you help me with my sand castle?"

"Sure!" Pen said. And for the next ten minutes or so, Pen helped Grace build a whole compound in the sand.

"Now, the castle's got to be up on a hill, like this, because it's harder to attack something up on a hill. Ask the Romans that besieged Masada!" Pen instructed her. It was Fortification Strategy 101.

"And we need a moat too for protection!" Grace declared.

"That's correct!" Pen said, standing and brushing sand off her jeans. Her left side was starting to ache a little from the position she had been sitting in. The skin felt like it was tugging a little, and she knew this probably wasn't a good sign. She didn't need to have any stitches pull.

"You ok?" Steve asked her, appearing out of nowhere. She had only just clutched her side, but yet he was there. He was like The Flash.

"I'm fine." Pen answered him.

"You're sure?"

"Yes!" She replied in exasperation.

"Fine. The ICE guys are here." He said, jerking his thumb over to a group of people standing by the grille, various types of beverages in hand.

"All right." Pen said, then turned to Grace. "Keep working on the moat. I'll be back."

"Ok!" Grace replied and happily continued digging in the sand.

Steve wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her over to the group of ICE agents.

"Hey guys. This is Dr. Penelope Harrison."

The group had three men and two women. The older male was introduced to her as Senior Special Agent Anthony Monteleone. The good-looking blonde was Special Agent Zach Richardson. The other guy with black hair was Marc Sciutto. Apparently the rookie of the group. The two women, both brunettes, one with blue eyes and the other with green, were Caroline Stark and Madeline Ames, respectively. They all shook Pen's hand and thanked her for what she had done.

"What did I do, exactly?" Pen asked.

"You protected artifacts of historical importance." Zach said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I was just doing my divinely appointed duty as a History academic." Pen joked.

They all chuckled.

"The identifications you made were impressive." Senior Special Agent Monteleone complimented her. "You made our job a little easier."

"It was all Kathryn." Pen said, motioning to her friend whom had just appeared from inside the house. "She's the expert. I had to ask her a lot of the time."

"I heard my name!" Kathryn said, as she walked past the group toward Danny. "Hey guys!"

They greeted back and she continued on her way to Danny. She was decked out in a pretty blue sundress and matching flip-flops. Pen watched as her friend leaned against her best friend. The sight was adorable.

Pen ended up talking awhile with the ICE team. They were all so funny and they complimented each other. It reminded her of how the members of Five-0 had acted at their lunch together. Pen particularly liked the Senior Special Agent. He reminded her a lot of her father, and Marc was kind of a socially awkward guy, but obviously intelligent. The two women were a lot like Pen except more badass. And Zach… well… Zach was incredibly full of himself… charming… but probably in love with his own reflection.

"Hey, Uncle Stevie?" Grace came up to Steve, tugging on his free arm.

"What's up, Gracie?" He asked her, kneeling down to meet her gaze.

"Can you play _Guitar Hero_ with me now?"

He smiled at her.

"Of course! Let's go!" He took hold of the hand she offered him and they disappeared into the house.

"This… I've gotta see." Zach said, echoing Pen's exact thoughts. Everyone concurred, and they followed the pair into the house.

Steve was handing Grace her guitar when they all got to the living room. He slipped the strap over his own head, and worked the controllers.

"This guy plays video games?" Caroline asked to no one in particular.

"Apparently." Pen answered her, shrugging. The ICE team and Five-0 had apparently worked closely with each other while Pen had been indisposed. They all knew Steve's background and had obviously dealt with his personality. They were about as in wonder as Pen.

"What song?" Steve asked Grace.

"_Livin' on a Prayer_." Grace said, confidently. The kid had loved Bon Jovi since Pen could remember.

"Figures." Steve muttered. "Ready to rock?" He asked her. She nodded her head and put her fingers at the ready, her face completely screwed up in concentration.

The song began, and Pen didn't know how Grace's little fingers could go so quickly across the buttons. But they were! And it soon became clear who was winning.

"Dude, she's kicking your butt." Zach pointed out.

Steve's attempt at _Guitar Hero_ was actually hurting Pen's ears. He was decent enough to not be booed out of the song, but about every tenth note he missed and the subsequent screech made Pen wince. He was butchering Bon Jovi! She supposed he should just stick with organizing top-secret missions and running Five-0.

Caroline and Madeline were both wincing with Pen and trying not to laugh. What made up for the racket? The mere sight of Steve/Grace bonding time. If Steve ever had children, Pen had a hunch he would be an excellent dad.

The song finally ended (blessed silence was music to Pen's ears) and Steve gave Grace a high five.

"How are you so good at this game?" Steve asked the little girl, clearly mystified.

"Please, Uncle Stevie. I'm a child of the new millennium!" Grace answered. The ICE team and Pen roared with laughter at the smart-ass answer. Danny couldn't have said it better himself if it had been him.

Grace looked up, and something behind them caught her eye; a large smile erupted across her face.

"Kamekona!" She shouted. She took the guitar controller off and ran to a tall, big, bald headed, Samoan man.

"Hey little lady! You behaving yourself?" The guy asked her as she threw her arms around him.

"Yes! I just beat Uncle Stevie in Guitar Hero!"

"You need a real challenge then! I'll play you." The man told her.

"YAY!"

Steve slapped hands with the Samoan and turned to introduce him to the group.

"… and this is Penelope Harrison. This is Kamekona."

Pen smiled and shook Kamekona's hand. He smiled back kindly.

"This is the professor, huh?" He asked Steve. Steve smiled and looked at Pen.

"This is her."

Clearly Pen had been talked about.

Grace challenged Kamekona to play a rousing rendition of _Love Me Two Times_ by the Doors, one of Pen's favorite bands. Kamekona was a LOT better than Steve, and Pen was singing along under her breath. Steve was standing next to her, mumbling the whole time about he could do this song better than the last one. Pen just laughed and rubbed his shoulder.

"Food's ready!" Danny announced, leaning in the open sliding glass door. Everyone filed outside to where a table had been set up, laden with food. Everybody started digging in, heaping their plates with food. Claudette sidled up to Pen, making sure she was eating, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Ma! What the heck?"

"Just happy to see you." Claudette answered innocently and then walked away. Kono, standing across the table from her, laughed.

Pen couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun at a gathering like this. Everyone she had just met were so kind to her and amusing as hell. She was pretty sure that Zach was hitting on her at one point, because Steve came up beside her and shot the blonde man his best cold, SEAL stare. Zach walked away quickly.

"Why'd you scare him away?"

"Because." Steve replied, oh so eloquently.

"'Because' why?"

"He was a getting a little too friendly with you."

Pen laughed.

"Are you hearing yourself? 'Friendly?' Seriously?"

He just shrugged.

Steve had to know that Pen was WAY over blondes. She had been cheated on by one, been kidnapped by one, and she sure as Hell wasn't going to be sweet talked by one who thought he was God's gift to women.

"You know what? Come with me." Pen said, grabbing his hand and dragging him into the house. She needed to speak with her boyfriend privately. Kamekona and Grace had ambled back in to play some more songs in _Guitar Hero_. Pen led him into the nearest room, which happened to be the downstairs bathroom.

"Look, Steve… there's something I need to say."

"You've dragged me into a bathroom… I'm intrigued." He said, cheekily.

Pen took hold of his head and dragged his lips to hers. He was definitely taken aback by her aggressive actions, but he was also pleased. Steve backed her into the sink and slid her hands from his face to behind his neck. He pulled her flush against him, and snaked his arms around her. God, the last time they had done this was in her kitchen. He couldn't have had enough of her then, and definitely couldn't have had enough of her now.

She was seriously floating on Cloud Nine. She had brought him in here to tell him that he was being ridiculous with that whole Zach issue but looking at him just got her flushed and she just had to kiss him. It was crazy how she was clinging to him like he would fall away from her at any minute, but she just couldn't let him go. Her hands gripped his soft hair so tightly she was surprised she wasn't hurting him. His lips against hers were so warm and soft, and man did he know how to move them.

And then, he was seeking entrance with his tongue, and searching every corner of her mouth. Pen moaned and thought she was going to dissolve right then and there. Pen's heart was beating so quickly, she was pretty sure that her cousins could probably hear it back in Virginia.

"WHOA! WHOA!" Shouted a voice suddenly.

Steve and Pen flew apart and saw Danny standing there, hand gripping the handle of the door, his mouth hanging open.

"Do you not know how to _knock_?" Steve practically yelled, out of breath.

"The door was ajar! I didn't think anyone was in here! Now I'm never going to be able to see again! Do you know how scarring it is to see your best friend making out with your partner? Oh God! I… I think I'm blind!"

And he left as quickly as he had come, shutting the door with a resounding click behind him. Pen burst out laughing and so did Steve. They were just destined to be perpetually interrupted while trying to have a private moment.

* * *

"We hate to eat and run, Steve, but we've got to catch a flight at the ass crack of dawn." Agent Monteleone said. It was getting late in the evening, everyone had just taken in a fantastic sunset.

"Thanks for coming, Tony." Steve said, shaking hands with the man. Everyone said good-bye to the ICE agents; Pen actually exchanged email addresses with Caroline and Madeline. They were definitely a cool bunch, and Pen hoped to see them again sometime. Maybe their paths would cross again?

"Can we watch _The Pacifier _now?" Grace asked the remaining group that consisted of Kono, Chin, Danny, Kathryn, Pen, Claudette and, of course, Steve. Kamekona had left a little earlier citing some business as his reason.

"Of course, Grace! Grab a spot and I'll pop it in." Steve told her.

The group all squeezed into the living room, finding whatever seat they could. Claudette had commandeered Steve's recliner. Steve, Pen, Kono and Chin all squeezed onto the couch, and Danny and Kathryn ended up on cushions on the floor. Grace had climbed onto Steve's lap, and rested against his chest. Once everyone was situated, Steve pressed play.

Steve had to be honest—despite the ridiculousness of Vin Diesel—he actually rather enjoyed this movie. Grace kept making comments though that stoked Steve's ego.

"You look better in t-shirts and cargo pants, Uncle Stevie."

"I don't like how he's all muscle-y. You look better, Uncle Stevie."

"I'm glad you have hair, Uncle Stevie. And how you don't have a big nose."

"Your combat boots are a lot cooler, Uncle Stevie."

Grace's comments made Pen laugh. Oddly enough, she had been thinking the same things.

By the time the credits rolled on the movie, Grace had fallen asleep in Steve's lap. Danny gently lifted her into his arms, where she stirred slightly but remained snoozing. Quiet goodbyes were exchanged and thank you's. Pen hugged Kono and Chin tightly.

"We'll see you soon?" Kono asked. "More surfing? When you're 100% better, of course."

Pen nodded emphatically. She never thought she would be excited to surf, but it was fun!

"So, you're meeting with Dr. Hart tomorrow, huh? You sure you want to go back so soon?" Kathryn asked her as both stood by Kathryn's car. Danny had since driven off into the night to get Grace home to bed.

"Yeah, I need to get back to my life. I've missed my classes."

Kathryn shook her head.

"If I was you, I'd milk it."

Pen laughed.

"I don't need anymore time off. Summer is right around the corner. I'll have practically three months off!"

"True." Kathryn replied. "Well, let me know how it goes."

The two friends hugged, and Pen waited until her taillights disappeared before going back into the house.

"Seriously, Mrs. Sheppard, don't. I'll clean this up tomorrow." Steve was trying to say to Pen's mom. Apparently, he wasn't having any effect on Claudette. Pen wasn't surprised.

"It won't take long, Stephen. We cleaned most of it up earlier, there's only a few things left…" Claudette said in reply.

"Which I can do tomorrow. Mrs. Sheppard, it's getting late, let me take you and Penny home. She's probably tired."

Pen actually was kind of tired.

Ten minutes later, after more convincing, Steve, Pen and Claudette were finally in his truck on the way back to her apartment.

Once there, Pen gave her mom the keys to let herself in. When she disappeared into the building, Pen turned back to Steve.

"Today was fun. A lot of fun, actually." Pen said.

"I enjoyed myself. I'll have to practice my _Guitar_ _Hero_ but…"

"Yeah, you butchered Bon Jovi. I'm sorry… you have lots of skills but _Guitar_ _Hero_ isn't one of them."

"You're right. It really isn't… but there's one skill I have that I know you like…" He said slyly, pulling her closer.

Pen just laughed. That he did.

**A/N: So, one more chapter after this! And it's kind of a short one, sorry to say. But I am currently working on the sequel. I'll give a little bit more detail in the last chapter. **

**Thank you so much to everyone that has been reviewing and who has just tuned in! You guys are awesome and are the reason I am continuing Steve and Pen's story! And, thank you to rice117 and Gizzi1213… to whom I now probably owe my third born (if I ever have that many kids, haha).**


	25. Chapter 25: Too Soon to Admit

**It Belongs in a Museum**

**By: Dean's Leather Jacket**

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Too Soon to Admit**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0… if I did… I wouldn't be writing FanFiction… I'd be making it happen for reals… hahaha.**

A week later, Pen found herself back in the classroom, being asked by her students if they could see her wound.

"No! Dammit!" Pen laughed. "Everyone calm the Hell down… today we're going to be talking about the emperor Commodus…"

Claudette had left over the weekend, back to Virginia. Pen had finally been able to show her around Honolulu and they even had taken a day trip up to the North Shore (thanks to Steve for the use of his truck) to check out the beaches. It had been a teary good-bye at Honolulu International Airport, when Pen sent her mom off. Steve had been kind enough to give them a ride to the airport.

"Why don't you get yourself a car?" Her mom had asked her.

"Ma… I live in a city. I don't need one."

"What do you do when you grocery shop then?"

"I make Danny take me." Pen had replied. Claudette rolled her eyes.

"Get yourself a car. There are always plenty of open spaces outside of your apartment. It'll make things easier on you."

"I'll think about it."

"Take care of my little girl." Claudette said to Steve this time.

"I will Mrs. Sheppard." Steve had reassured her.

There were more hugs, and Pen had told her mom to convince Gabriel to come down and visit her some time. Claudette told her that she would try her best to make him take a vacation.

"… and… no Commodus was nothing like he was in the movie _Gladiator_." Pen told her students. "Oddly enough, he was actually killed in the bathtub by his favorite wrestler, Narcissus. You'd probably find it funny to know that conspirators had tried to poison his food… but he puked it up… and therefore didn't die from that. That's when they sent the wrestler. So… as a general rule… when you want someone taken care of… send a wrestler, I guess?"

A collective chuckle sounded in the room, and Pen smiled. She was glad to be back.

* * *

"I brought you luuuunch! For your first day back." Kathryn sing-songed as she stepped into Pen's office. She held up a bag. "Sandwiches!"

"Bring it on." Pen said

"All riiight. So, I got you ham and cheese on French bread. I remember you telling me you liked that combination so…"

"Perfect." Pen replied, reaching into one of her desk drawers to pull out some napkins. She cleared a place off of her desk so Kathryn could eat.

"I've got a date tonight." Kathryn told her.

"Ohhh. Where's Danny taking you?"

"He's cooking for me, actually."

"You're in for a treat."

Kathryn looked worried.

"Why?"

"No! I didn't mean it like that. Danny's actually a really good cook. He learned from his mom. She makes a mean lasagna."

Kathryn looked impressed. She loved to cook as much as Pen loved to bake. They joked often that if they ever were fired, they would open a restaurant together.

"Grace is going to be there too. She's such an awesome kid." Kathryn gushed.

"You don't have to tell me, she's my goddaughter." Pen laughed.

Pen was glad to see that Grace and Kathryn got along. They had finished the sand castle together, and Kathryn had helped Grace heap up a plate of food. They had really bonded. Pen knew that some people would be a little freaked out at the "extra baggage" that a divorcee could bring to the table, but not Kathryn. She and Danny really seemed to click, in a way that Rachel and Danny hadn't. Pen was happy for them, really happy.

"Is that your phone vibrating or mine?" Kathryn suddenly asked.

Pen hadn't even noticed the noise. She opened up the drawer that held her keyboard for her computer, and realized it was her phone. Steve was calling.

"Hi there." She answered. She sent Kathryn an apologetic look, which she waved off and continued eating her sandwich.

"Hey. I had a few minutes and I thought I'd give you a call… see how you were doing." Steve said.

"I'm doing great. Having lunch with Kathryn right now."

"Oh, I can talk to you later…"

"No, no, it's fine." Pen assured him. She hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him yesterday because of the case he had been working on, and she was really missing him.

"Were your students happy to see you again?" He asked.

"I think they were more interested in wanting to see my scar." Pen chuckled.

"It's like they've never known someone who's been stabbed before." Steve joked.

"How about you? Catch the bad guy yet?"

"No, but we've got a major lead we're about to check out."

"That's good! Just do me a favor… be careful. And… try not to get Danny shot or anything. He's got a hot date tonight." Pen informed him, winking at Kathryn.

"_He's_ got a hot date tonight? Do _I_ have a hot date tonight?"

Pen laughed.

"Maaaybe." She teased.

"Maybe? _Maybe_? Well… I have a hot date tonight and you may or may not be invited."

"_Fine_!" Pen replied, mock hurt in her voice.

She heard his breathy laughs on the other end of the line. God, how had she found such a man?

"What did you have in mind?" She asked him.

"I can't tell you. It's a surprise."

"That's lame! Why can't you tell me?"

"Because that would ruin the _surprise_!"

"Ok, ok! Can I have a hint?" Pen wondered.

"Just… dress warmly."

Odd, dress warmly in Hawaii? What could he be planning?

"I'll give you a call when we're done for the day." He told her.

"Sounds good." Pen said.

"You got a 'hot date' tonight too, huh?" Kathryn asked when Pen had hung up.

"Apparently." Pen smiled.

* * *

"This is ridiculous, Steve. Can I open my eyes now?"

"Not yet… step up… there you go. Ok… you can look now."

Pen opened her eyes and gasped. It was the Ice Palace. The skating rink in Honolulu. Pen had been wanting to bring Grace here for some time now and hadn't gotten a chance to yet. The rink was empty and the lights were on. Pen turned around to where Steve was holding out ice skates to her.

"I know you said how much you missed ice skating." He smiled.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, like she was a little kid on Christmas. She took the offered skates and threw her arms around him. "How'd you get us in here? There are no evening skates on Mondays."

"I know a guy who knows a guy." He answered her vaguely. Pen laughed. She sat down on a nearby bench, took off her Chucks, and began lacing up her skates. She had dressed warmly, as per his instructions. She had on a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and her black pea coat. She loved that pea coat, hence why she hadn't been able to part with it when she came to Hawaii. She recognized that it would be rare she would get to wear it, but she needed it in her life. Seriously.

Steve was actually wearing jeans again, which Pen greatly appreciated. She noticed when they had walked out to his truck how well those jeans were hugging his backside. She couldn't help noticing these things. He also wore a hoodie that he had gotten from Annapolis. He looked a little nervous as he laced up his own skates.

"You sure you want to do this?" She asked him.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I?" He asked. Pen could see through the false bravado. He was too cute.

"You know how to surf, right?"

"Yes." He replied.

"And yet, you're nervous about ice skating?"

She was hoping he would see the disconnect here.

"I'm not nervous." He told her. Uh huh. Sure.

"Ready?" She asked him. She stood and held out her hand to him. He took it, stood and wobbled slightly.

Pen led him to the opening of the rink and easily stepped out onto the ice. She swirled around to watch him. Steve held on to either side of the opening and took a deep breath.

"All you have to do is step out onto the ice like you're walking normally." Pen coaxed.

"Uh… you go ahead. I'll catch up."

Pen chuckled and worked her legs. She closed her eyes for a second as she slid across the ice. She really had missed this. There was nothing like gliding along the frozen surface, feeling the cold air hitting your face. Pen finished up her lap around the rink, and came back around to where Steve had hold of the boards. He had made it a few feet away from the opening.

"Come on." She said, holding out both hands to him. He took them, and she pulled him away from the side. "Just work your feet. Left, right, left, right… don't they teach you that sort of thing in the Navy?" She joked.

He shot her a look.

When he had gotten the hang of it, she let go of his hands and he was able to skate a couple of feet before slipping and falling to the ice. She shouldn't laugh. She knew that. But it was just too funny that this tough-as-nails SEAL who had been on countless top-secret missions around the world, didn't ice skate.

Pen held her hand out to him, which he grabbed, and then proceeded to drag her to the ice with him. She laughed even harder.

"That'll teach you to laugh at me." He said, bringing her closer to him. He kissed her then, a sweet kiss, and then smiled at her.

"You want to try again?" She asked.

"Can't back down from a challenge." He said, and then she helped him stand up.

He did eventually get the hang of it. They held hands as they did lap after lap around the rink. She asked about his day and he asked about hers.

"So, can you do triple axels and what not?" He asked her.

Pen snorted.

"God no. I can only skate. Never wanted to be a figure skater or anything."

"Want to try a lift?" He asked her, reaching for her. She shrieked and skated out of his reach.

"No way! No, no!"

"Oh come on!" He joked, skating slowly after her. He picked up his pace and grabbed her around her waist. She shrieked again and started laughing.

"Don't you dare!" She warned him. But he didn't do anything. He just spun her around and pulled her close to him.

"You're no fun." He complained.

"I don't want you to drop me. Have you seen your skating?" Pen teased.

"I would never drop you." He whispered to her. And she believed him. It was the eyes, they were the color of the stormy sea, framed by those ridiculously thick, long dark lashes.

"I wanted to ask you something." He said again, his voice taken on that husky tone she hadn't heard in a really long time. A hot flash hit her, as she took in a deep breath.

"What is it?" She asked, matching his tone.

"When you… before you passed out… back in the warehouse… you were about to tell me something."

"What was I saying?"

"You said, 'Steve, I'm falling in…" and then you stopped."

"I don't really remember." She said. "All I remember was everything going dark. Maybe I was just saying that I was falling into darkness."

This was actually a lie. Pen remembered that moment exactly, having finally remembered the whole situation. She had almost told him that she was falling in love with him. But she wasn't quite ready to admit to that. Yeah, maybe she was still a tiny wary of her heart being broken, but on the other hand, she felt pretty confident Steve would never do that. Pen had only known the guy about a month. Even though she was pretty confident that she felt something stronger than 'like' for Steve, it was way too soon to admit to love!

**THE END**

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for sticking around to read this random idea that popped into my head one day! To all those that reviewed/alert-ed/Gizzi1213/rice117… this story is dedicated to you! **

**So, I'm working on the sequel so be on the look out for that. I'm calling it "My Name is Gladiator." I won't give any plot details away yet. You'll just have to think on what the title means! Hahaha!**


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